High School Teacher Kelsey Kirk Uses Her Gift to Glorify God

Kelsey Kirk is a high school English teacher by day, and an author and illustrator at other times. She has been doing what she loves, teaching, for 18 years, but always dreamed of being a published author and illustrator.

“Writing a book has always been on my bucket list,” said Kirk who teaches English I and is the yearbook advisor at Middleton High School. “I love to write, but I would say I love to illustrate more. I find myself drawing more than writing.”

Kirk graduated from Middleton High School in 2000 and continued her education at the University of Memphis through the Jackson State Community College Cohort Education Program.

“Throughout my college career, I had many classes dealing with literature and how to teach those concepts to children; those were always my favorite,” said Kirk who has a BS in Education. “One of my favorite classes was Children’s Literature. We learned how to read children’s books aloud to students and how selecting the right children’s books could help foster a love of reading.”

Kirk understands the importance of nurturing creativity in children. A fond memory she has is when she was five years old and her grandmother, who was a painter, challenged her to draw a picture from a magazine.

“My grandmother sat me down after one holiday dinner and gave me a picture of a flamingo out of a magazine. She told me to just draw it,” said Kirk. “I remember my grandmother and father being amazed at how well I drew the flamingo and the detail that went into it.”

Kirk, who was recently announced as a 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year recipient and also selected as District Teacher of the Year for ninth through twelfth grades, brings to the students in her classroom the education she received in college and the experience she has gained over the years as a teacher. She tries to implement creativity in her lessons whenever she can. Kirk started a creative writing class last year, because of what she sees as the lack of art education in the Hardeman County Schools.

“I thought this was a way for those students who are not athletically or musically inclined to have a way to express themselves. It was such a neat experience to be a part of,” said Kirk. “Unfortunately, with a lack of staffing and because of scheduling issues, I was not able to keep it going this school year. We have a lot of artistic students and ones who can write amazing things. I just wish we had an art program or writing program for them to be a part of.” 

Kirk’s evolution from that five-year-old little girl to a published author and illustrator exemplifies the value of children being introduced to art at an early age. She considers her talents as “gifts from God”, which is the theme of her two books Joyful Jenna and Tenacious Tori.

“Some may call them talents or personality traits. I call them gifts from God because He is our creator. They are gifts He chooses for each one of us specifically,” said Kirk. “I believe we have to identify those gifts and then use them to glorify His name in some way.”

Kirk writes about her daughters in both books. Joyful Jenna is about Kirk’s oldest daughter, who was confident in her singing ability at a younger age, and later became self-conscious about her gift. Tenacious Tori is about her youngest daughter and her determined personality.

“Jenna learns to use her gift from God to glorify and worship Him, and Tori uses her God-given gift to travel the world and tell others about God’s mercy and grace. Both girls learn no matter who you are, you can be a vessel for God’s word,” said Kirk.

Jenna and Tori are proud of their mom and love that Kirk wrote books about them. They have even had the occasion for their books to be read on Young Reader’s Day at their elementary school. Both girls would dress up as themselves, the characters in the books, and proudly share “this book is about me” or “I am Tenacious Tori”.

Kirk has not only seen her daughters grow through her writing but has also seen a lot of personal growth. The experience has pulled her out of her comfort zone, especially when she reads her books in front of people other than her students. She plans to continue writing and would like to create a series of books that carry the same theme as her other books.

When writing for pleasure, Kirk enjoys poetry and has a shared interest in art with her daughter, Jenna.

“I love the ‘no rules’ mentality of poetry. It doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else. I also enjoy creating canvas paintings, which Jenna also enjoys. We have a lot of art around our house that she and I have created. Jenna is very artistic too.”

Kirk is amazed at the positive reception of her work outside of the classroom. She is thankful to be able to “use her gift” to glorify God’s name in some way.

“I did not do it to make money or become a well-known author. I did this for the good Lord above, for myself, and for my girls,” said Kirk.

Kelsey Kirk’s books are available on Amazon.

Read more local news by clicking here.

Stay informed on what’s happening in Hardeman County by subscribing to Hatchie Press e-mail updates.

Do you have community news you’d like to share? E-mail us at news@hatchiepress.com.