Faculty Profiles

Jill W. Andersen

Jill W. Anderson teaches a course on Writing Children's Books at Ashworth College. She has a Master's Degree in Reading Education from Clemson University and was graduated magna cum laude. Jill is an experienced preschool and elementary school teacher and leads workshops on the multi-age classroom and using literacy centers.

A mother with small children of her own, Jill says that teaching at Ashworth is the perfect opportunity for her to continue in her profession as a teacher while remaining at home with her family. "I think distance education is the wave of the future and will continue to grow to meet the needs of people with outside jobs, children and family responsibilities. I'm very excited by the opportunity to be able to teach this course online."

Jill believes that the online courses offer the flexibility and freedom that is a must for those working full time and caring for children of their own. "Not all students are going to be able to go to a traditional college in a classroom setting with a teacher in front of them at a specific time of day on specific days of the week," she points out. "So this is exciting to me and much more freeing for the students. They have far more opportunities to take a wide range of different classes in a way that works for them."

Jill developed her love of literature and reading at an early age. "Some of my most pleasant memories as a child were reading the great books," she recalls. "I'm excited to be able to share that and to actually impact those who will be writing for a new generation. It's gratifying to be part of that and to feed the desire my students have to enjoy good books, especially some of the great children's literature that's coming out nowadays."