Ms. Sherrard has been a beloved teacher at Saint Francis for the past ten years. She currently teaches English 1, English 2, and AP English Language, and she used to teach Journalism, AP Lang and Global Citizenship. She moderates The Lancer, loosely moderates Photography Club, and is an SF Thrive advisor. She was also the former moderator of our yearbook.

The Lancer:  Growing up, what was your experience as a student from high school to university?

Ms. Amy Sherrard: I felt incredibly prepared coming from Saint Francis and going to UCLA. I was really excited to go to UCLA, because I thought everyone was going to be a great student and I would be challenged by my peers. Then, during my first peer editing session for an environmental general education class, I had this feeling like every single person that I went to high school with writes better than every single person at UCLA. Saint Francis has a very rigorous academic program, and I realized how privileged I was at that moment. So, I had a very easy time going to college and I also didn’t in major anything incredibly difficult. 

TL: What did you major in? 

AS: I double majored in English and environmental geography. 

TL: How did teaching come up?

AS: I thought I was going to work in publishing. I worked at the Daily Bruin at UCLA and I made it into the upper management where I was the art director. Then, I studied abroad in England, and I was going to come back and start my art director position. I was really stressed. When I studied abroad, I made a bunch of new friends and they were like, what if you just didn’t do that because you don’t like it? I had an ‘aha’ moment. So I quit—It was really dramatic. I needed something to do, so I started giving tours at an art museum which I really enjoyed. A friend of mine was teaching creative writing at a middle school and they were opening a high school site. She encouraged me to do it and I loved teaching creative writing. That was when I was like, oh, education, that’s the thing that I enjoy doing. So then I was trying to decide if I wanted to work at a nonprofit, a museum, be a teacher, or be a professor and get a PhD. I talked to my favorite English professor and he said don’t get a PhD because your life will be horrible: you can’t control where you live and there are no jobs. Weirdly, I knew that teaching would make more money than a nonprofit. So, I applied to Santa Clara’s graduate school program so I could move back to the Bay and be closer to my now-husband. I started my Master’s teaching the Monday after graduation from college, which I would not recommend. 

TL: What makes Saint Francis special to you as an educator and how do you think it reflects in student’s experiences? 

AS: I think sometimes it might be hard for students to believe this, but the benefit of Saint Francis is that your faculty are more invested in you and in the school as a whole than the average school. I think you’ll really feel the absence of that upon leaving. As much as it’s natural for high school students to chafe against their institution (and they should, to improve it), there’s a lot of love for you guys here that is hard to replicate and it keeps people, like me, coming back.

TL: What do you like to do outside of the classroom? 

AS: I love to be outside and so does my toddler. She spent eight hours outside on Saturday. We were at Mrs. Yang’s house, but it was really outside Mrs. Yang’s house. I also like hiking, camping, and taking her to the park. I love sports—I’m a new season ticket holder for the Golden State Valkyries and love going to Giants games. 

TL: Could you explain your teaching philosophy and how you exemplify it in your teaching? 

AS: I hope that my students feel like learning is process-oriented, and I try to replicate that in class—even if you have to turn something in, there’s not necessarily a finished product, ever. I hope it feels like there’s lots of room for growth and mistakes. You don’t have to love reading, but hopefully it reflects life a little bit. That’s the fun part about teaching AP students: you can do more of an AP book club because people do the reading. Even in classes where students might not be doing the reading as much, I’m hoping that they’re taking away the moral lessons of literature and enjoying some of the drama.

TL: What is the most rewarding and most taxing part of your job? 

AS: Being in the classroom is the most rewarding. The most horrible part is grading. Grading AP essays is the worst part, not because I hate reading them, but because it’s intellectually laborious and in order to do right by the writer, I have to think really hard. 

TL: How long does it take you to take one essay? 

AS: Oh my God! For English 1 and 2, five to seven minutes. For AP Lang, I really shoot for 12 to 15 minutes, but it’s usually more like 30 to 45 minutes. 

TL: Do you have any advice for students who might be unsure what they want to do in the future? 

AS: I think dabbling is good. You can change your mind at any time—there’s no rules. Whatever makes you happy when it makes you happy is good. I thought being in publishing was going to be prestigious and good for me, and then I realized I don’t care about prestige. Now, I love my job because I don’t have to sit at a desk and I get to have fun, talk to people all day, and learn while they learn. I had a whole career I thought I was going to have, and when I decided I didn’t like it, I just tried a lot of new things until something stuck. 

TL: What is one piece of advice you wish someone would have told your younger self?

AS: It’s okay to care less.

TL: If you could teach a subject other than in English, what would it be? 

AS: I would love to teach outdoor skills. I would love to take kids on backpacking trips and teach them to make a fire, cook outdoor food, forage. 

TL: What’s your favorite piece of literature?

AS: One of my favorites is a book called Skippy Dies by Irish author Paul Murray.

TL: What’s your favorite TV show and movie? 

AS: It’s so hard to pick one. I am enjoying Severance. I don’t know how I feel about season two, but I’ve enjoyed it. My husband and I watched a lot of Alone, the reality TV show where people are alone in the woods. I always tell people that my favorite movie is Elf, which is a deeply uncool answer but true. 

TL: And last one, what is your favorite flavor and brand of ice cream?

AS: My favorite flavor of ice cream is brand-dependent. My general favorite flavor is coffee, but I don’t have a specific coffee brand I like the best. Although I do like the Verve one from Penny in Los Altos, where they torch the marshmallow on top. My other favorite is peppermint from Preston’s in Burlingame, which is a chocolate shop that also has ice cream. The ice cream texture is similar to Persian ice cream, where it’s very stretchy. You can also dip the cone in chocolate.

Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.