An eight-year teaching veteran, Heather Barrera has spent all but one of those years at May ISD, where she serves as an elementary teacher.
“I have taught 3rd and 4th math for most of my career,” said Barrera, who spent her first year at Rising Star and has been at May ever since. “Math wasn’t my favorite as a kid. Once I got into my college methods for teaching Mathematics courses, and my professor really taught us the ‘why’ behind how math works, I really started to enjoy it and I hope to pass that understanding along to my students.”
Barrera attended high school in May and Brownwood and later went on to graduate from Tarleton State University.
“I had some amazing teachers when I was in school that really made an impact on me,” Barrera said. “I wanted to become a teacher to hopefully be a positive influence for my own students.”
As for the teacher who left the biggest impression on Barrera, she said, “My high school science teacher, Mrs. Anderson, really inspired me as a student. She had so much passion in her teaching, and it really made learning fun and meaningful.”
Now that she herself is an educator, the most rewarding part for Barrera is, “definitely the kids. Building relationships with my students and advocating for them is the best part of the job.”
Asked what she feels is misunderstood or undervalued when it comes to teaching, Barrera said, “The most overlooked aspect of being an educator is how much time we invest. I’m always thinking of my students and how to be better.”
Regarding her future in the teaching field, Barrera said, “I’m really excited to see how we can integrate STEM and technology in a meaningful way that will help our students develop critical thinking skills.”
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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.