School: Heritage Elementary, Carter County
Grade/Subject: Reading Recovery
Years of Experience: 13
Teaching was always something I dreamed about from the time I was in kindergarten. Throughout my life, teachers have inspired me and believed in me and I knew that I wanted to be that person in other people’s lives. Teaching gives me that platform, whether I’m teaching and inspiring my students or fellow co-workers. I knew for sure that teaching was what I was meant to do and am so glad that I followed my dream, even as a non-traditional student who returned to college in my mid-30s to pursue that dream! I am a firm believer that it is never too late to do something you are passionate about.
My favorite thing about being a teacher is witnessing the growth in a student’s learning abilities throughout the school year. Each year, students come in knowing very little, but leave with so much more knowledge and understanding of the world in which they live. It’s the small, little steps that put a smile on my face because I know that by the end of the year those little steps are adding up and the students will have learned so much more than they did at the beginning of the year. To me, seeing the growth in my students is my favorite thing about being a teacher.
When I’m not working, my favorite thing to do is spend time with my husband and son. Recently, my husband and I took up cycling so we spend most of our free time riding bike trails and other road routes with a group of avid bikers. My son is a working man now, so when he has time to come home we like to spend time together going out to dinner, watching sports, kayaking, etc.
My superpower would be to stop the Coronavirus from spreading so that we could get back to a normal school year!
Follow DeeAnna on Twitter at @DeeAnnaAlbright and on Instagram at @dalbright68.