"I think the difficult part is making it accessible to teenagers. It's a classic piece of literature that seems very daunting at first glance or even third or fourth glance," Ms. Gillespie said.

She helps students get past Dante's antiquated views, by showing them that his writing is still relevant to their lives. "They can relate to what we all endure, which is pain, suffering love and friendship. All of these are common themes and topics in literature. They all relate to and deal with it daily."

"It's not about dumbing it down so they can understand it," Taryn continued. "I think it's about taking it up a notch. I try to include a lot of art, music and film and have them think of what their own concept of hell and how that would be."

"One thing I really like is that she really relates to us. She's so young at heart and she makes things so interesting for our age group," added student Rose Chipman.

Discussion is a big part of Ms. Gillespie's classes. Instead of planning every word she's going to teach, she leaves some room for the students to talk about their thoughts, sparking new ideas and debates. "They're at an age where they're not listened to a lot, so I want to be someone they can talk to and be heard," Ms. Gillespie said.

It's this student participation that makes students look forward to Ms. Gillespie's classes. "(In her class) everyone is equal and everyone likes each other," explained Alex Cordell.

He says he appreciates the way that Ms. Gillespie challenges him and the other students. "I know my last essay was shot into the ground my Ms. Gillespie and I know what I need to work on. It's nice to be criticized."

Even Gillespie says she enjoys it most when the students teach her. "I like to have them educate me about topics."

Teaching is something that she wanted to do ever since she was a little girl. "Whenever people asked me what I was going to do and I said that I was going to be a teacher. I used to teach to my stuffed animals with a chalkboard when I was a little kid."

Ms. Gillespie's mantra is you get what you give. So every day she gives her all–hoping to make a big difference in the lives of the young men and women she now teaches. "I love it because I feel like when I get up in the morning, I'm contributing to something. That I'm helping people think for themselves, hopefully."

Please join 9NEWS, CollegeInvest and Metropolitan State College in congratulating Taryn Gillespie, the December 2007 9Teacher Who Cares.