By Graciella Bang-On, Brooke Mekonnen, and Danika Gilbert

Hey Forest Hill! Your two favourite authors have returned for another year better than ever, but this time, our duo has become a trio! Please welcome Danika to the team! This month, the three of us sat down with the legendary Ms. Main to talk about her high school experiences, hobbies, and who she’d trust if she ever got stuck on a deserted island.

What was your first job?

For Ms. Main’s first job, she technically wasn’t even old enough to work yet. She was a teaching assistant in the basement of a psychiatric hospital during the summer. It was required for her to be fourteen, but she wouldn’t turn fourteen until September. “I had to lie about my age to get in”, she said, which might be the most normal teenage thing ever.

Why did you decide to become a teacher?

Ms. Main’s answer came easily. She grew up playing sports, coaching younger grades, and spreading a lot of time around teams. School was a good experience for her, so teaching was kind of a natural step. She didn’t explore every possible career, she just followed the path that felt familiar and meaningful. “It just felt like a fit,” she said.

What is your advice for students?

When we asked Ms. Main for her advice to students she said:

“Be curious, not afraid to take risks. Don’t be afraid to be wrong.”

She spoke about learning like it was an adventure, where silence is the only real mistake. She believes students should fill the room with their voices, shape their classes with their ideas, and claim their space with confidence. To her, learning isn’t just about grades, it’s about being brave and taking risks.

What would you say to your past self?

She told us she used to be so much more brave in high school, and didn’t realise how much risk she took.“When you get older, you get too cautious,” she said. “You talk yourself out of things you really want to do.” Her message to her younger self (and, of course, to everyone): Don’t talk yourself out of something you care about.

What are your hobbies?

When she’s not running around the school, Ms. Main is literally running, biking and sometimes cooking. She’s all about staying busy, whether that means mountain biking, or going for a run, or trying out a new recipe.

“Anything that keeps me busy, I like doing,” 

After a long day of teaching and reading at school, Mrs. Main switches to audiobooks so her eyes can have a break. Work smarter, not harder.

What is your favourite singer or band?

In high school, Ms. Main loved the classics: Guns N’ Roses, U2, Metallica, AC/DC, what she claimed was “all the good stuff from the 80s and 90s.” Now, her taste is more eclectic. She’ll listen to almost everything, as long as it doesn’t include hard swear words.

Which teacher would you bring on a deserted island with you?

We asked the tough question: “If you were stranded on a deserted island, which teacher would you pick to survive, and which would you have the most fun with?”. For survival, Ms. Main said it’d be between Ms. Wilk and Ms. Monaghan, because according to her, they’re both smart enough to keep her alive. For fun, she said she’d take Ms. Cimera, whose “aura”, kindness, and humour could probably make a deserted island feel like a cozy book club.

Did you enjoy high school?

She said she really did. She was ready to leave when the time came, but she still remembers it positively. She said that after high school, opportunities only get better, and that there’s more freedom, more responsibility, and more room to grow.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

Most people know that Ms. Main grew up in Northwestern Ontario where the winters were so cold that people had to plug in their cars overnight so that they’d start up in the morning, but one thing people don’t know is that she once accidentally applied to be a city bus driver at university. She thought the job was about driving a small van, then realised halfway through the interview that it was for a city bus. She ended up fully trained with a CZ license and spent a summer driving a bus. “They go faster than you think”, she claimed.

What would you like to do after you retire?

Ms. Main wants to keep learning, taking classes and maybe trying new hobbies. She also wants to travel and enjoy life without alarms or strict schedules. She even asked us what we think people should do when they retire. We think teachers should spend their retirement doing what makes them happy, and also take time to feel proud because teachers shape hundreds of lives without always getting to see the long-term impact.

Talking with Ms. Main feels like reading a good book – thoughtful and funny. She reminds us that learning is an act of bravery, that curiosity is power, and the best stories start when you take a risk. Whether she’s running a trail or leading class discussions, Ms. Main teaches that you shouldn’t talk yourself out of doing something you really want to do.