Christina Ashford brings experience, authenticity to her Lanier High English classroom

The veteran teacher, who moved from Minneapolis to Jackson in 2021, says her students teach her as much as she teaches them.

Christina Ashford has worked in education for more than 25 years. Zy’Quria McClendon

By Zy’Quria McClendon

As a student, it’s easy to tell if a teacher is genuine or not. Sitting down with Christina Ashford, a 10th grade English II teacher at Lanier High School, there is no doubt of her authenticity.

Ashford is a fan-favorite around the school, with multiple students casually strolling in just to talk to her about life outside of school, like what they did the weekend before or something that’s going on at home. I’ve experienced this firsthand after being her student for two years straight. I can confidently say it’s rare to find an educator like her more than once in one lifetime. Her classroom always felt like a warm hug and a smile.

The year was 2021. Her mother had just passed, her father kept pressuring her to move, and Jackson felt slower paced and more intimate than the city.

“I know we say Mississippi hospitality, but it’s very real. You could be going in a Kroger, [see] two women talking ‘Hey, baby’ and you don’t know them, but it can just be like you just got a greeting from your grandmother,” she said.

Ashford describes herself as introverted, but she appears so open with everyone she comes across that it’s hard to believe so. Her sincerity shines in every conversation, and she finds joy in learning things from everyone she meets, including her students.

“People often think that being a teacher, you’re always imparting knowledge. But you also learn a lot from the students,” she said.

“I just think we need to be able to work on giving our kids more [real world] experience. I think that would shift education drastically.” — Christina Ashford

Ashford has worked in multiple educational institutions. Her job history ranges from charter to public schools, elementary to high schools. She didn’t plan to be a teacher, even though she came from a family filled with them.

Ashford is an advocate for experiential education. Zy’Quria McClendon

“You know, and it’s funny, ‘cause if I go back and look at my journal like, in my 20s, I even said in my journal I didn’t want to be a teacher and I ended up…being a teacher,” she said, smiling.

After spending over 25 years in the educational field, Ashford has built a very strong opinion on where the system stands and what improvements should be made. As a whole, she thinks of the standards being taught and requirements to graduate as being outdated and rigid.

“I just think we need to be able to work on giving our kids more [real world] experience,” she said. “And I think that would shift education drastically.”

She said she appreciated the flexibility she had as a teacher at Plymouth Christian Youth Center, an alternative school in Minneapolis where she had more autonomy to support her students in the ways they needed.

“They had legitimate things like ‘I need a job’ or ‘I need to write a letter [for this or that]’ or ‘my court date is coming up’ or whatever,” she said. “So, okay, let’s look at how to write a letter. You know what I mean? So, really, life application and practicalness as well.”

Another example would be the rise of technology. This generation of students has grown up in a more advanced world, Ashford expressed.

“It’s an experience, and I can’t compete with TikTok in this room with mediocre technology.”

Before the new cell phone ban this year, her solution to this problem was to include phones in her lessons and teach students how to use them to their advantage, instead of just making students put them away. She believes smartphones have become a part of daily life, and that it would be futile to force students to pretend that they do not exist for such a huge part of their day.

Moreover, she feels strongly about school funding. She believes there should be a spot in the budget for taking the kids to more places outside of school, state or country.

“I believe that experience is the world’s greatest teacher,” Ashford said.

She thinks that it’d be more beneficial if they got on a plane and went to Washington, D.C., or just took a trip anywhere outside of school. And if schools were able to create anything to help the students engage with the lesson in general, then they’d be passing the state tests without a problem.

“I think this is where I’m supposed to be. I’m meant to be here and doing this work. I believe in that.” — Christina Ashford

“But I think if you teach the whole child–the heart, mind, and soul of children–they’ll all be proficient,” she said.

Toward the end of our interview, I'd asked Ms. Ashford how she saw her position here and if she is the person she wanted to be. She called herself a consistency to the children who don’t have it at home and there was no hesitation in telling me she’s proud of the person she’s become.

“I think this is where I’m supposed to be, I think that this is, you know, my calling,” she said. “Even though, you know, sometimes I’m like ‘Ahh! This is too much! Why does it have to be this hard?’ And I used to ask those questions when I was younger, but, yeah, this was absolutely my calling. I’m meant to be here and doing this work. I believe in that.”