“The best way to get into a child’s head is through their heart,” she said. “I tell my students’ parents when they drop their child off at my door for the first day of fifth grade that I appreciate their willingness to share their child with me and that I am going to treat them like they are mine.“
Free said teaching and learning is a two-way street, and that she has learned much from her students over the years.
“I love having the privilege to teach my students new things, but more than that, I love what they teach me. I have learned patience because my students learn in their own way and in their own time. They are not always on the same timeline that I am on…or want them to be on…and I have learned that that is just fine as long as we come to a successful end. I am just as proud of the accomplishments of my students as I am of my own children. I love discovering how kids learn and listening to the conversations that they have with each other and with me. Just listening when they speak is so enlightening into how they learn and into their lives…although sometimes I learn things that would make their parents would cringe! It’s not always easy to hold my students to the same high academic and moral standards that I hold my own children and grandchildren to, but I refuse to waiver. My kids’ futures are at stake and they are worth the high expectations.”
Picture Information
Crockett Elementary Campus Teacher of the Year Nita Free (left) and Weatherford ISD Education Foundation Past-President Donna Dickinson (photo by DERIK MOORE).