Story by Kaden Bessent
Emily Lacy is approaching her eighth year as a teacher and second in Brownwood. She taught at May and Eastland before coming to Coggin Elementary. After graduating as valedictorian from May in 2011, Lacy went on to college at Howard Payne University.
As for why she became a teacher, Lacy said, “From a young age, I have always loved helping others learn both skill and content. Teachers have always been a huge encourager of my life and have continued to encourage me even after I became an adult. I wanted to be able to do the same for the future generation and make a difference. Although education was not my original career plan, I have been immensely blessed in my last seven years in the classroom and know that I have made and will continue to make a positive ripple for everyone I come in contact with.”
Lacy said there are multiple teachers who she would love to emulate. “To name a few: Debbie Hagood, Vella Pallette, Beth Renfro, Ginger Anderson, Linda Wheeler, Natalie Steele, Leah Phillips, Jeanne Thornhill, and Dr. Marilyn Mathis,” she said.
Lacy currently teaches fourth and fifth reading/language arts and social studies.
“I have always had a passion to teach children how to read, write, and understand their surroundings as well as learn to love reading and writing. To be able to read, respond, and create your own narrative is a passage that allows you to be multifaceted and function at a high degree,” Lacy said. “I also teach social studies and love teaching the kids about major events in our history and how they have shaped the state and country we are in today. We often have discussions about how learning our history will hopefully allow us to make better decisions for our future and not have to go through some of the hard times again.”
Regarding what is most rewarding about teaching, Lacy said, “The sweet relationships that you create with all of your students and watching them blossom in the classroom and out. I love each of my students where they are and add them to my family each year.”
Looking into the future, Lacy said, “I am excited to see what all technologies are available to our students and how our students will improve using them. As with anything, we cannot sit still but must learn to adapt and move forward with the new all while learning how we can use it in a positive manner. Artificial Intelligence has already started to take off and has shown its usefulness in helping my students make intriguing, beautiful presentations that they are proud to present to their peers.”
***
BrownwoodNews.com will highlight one Brown County educator per day in the month of July, based on nominations received on our Facebook page, for our Teacher Feature series.