Ms. Anita Coleman was recently honored as the Decatur County District Teacher of the Month for May/June after being selected as the May Parsons Elementary Teacher of the Month. Ms. Anita has dedicated 37 years to education and her students, even despite beginning this school year recovering from a terrible car accident. Ms. Anita gave us some time to answer questions about her philosophy of education, background, and her favorite parts of teaching and to be recognized by the school board for outstanding accomplishments.
Ms. Anita earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Martin in Elementary Education and Secondary Education in Social Studies. She later earned a Masters from Trevecca in administration and supervision and completed an additional 30 graduate hours from Columbia University.
Ms. Anita has dedicated her entire 37 years to the students of Parsons Elementary School, teaching second grade for 33 years, third and fourth-grade social studies for three years, and finished her career as the librarian in 2022-2023. Ms. Anita said her favorite part of teaching has always been the relationships that have been formed with her coworkers, students, and parents. Over the past few years, her toughest challenge has been overcoming the post-pandemic education difficulties.
When asked to describe her teaching philosophy, she said, “All students are capable of success; however, each student has their own unique talents and learning personalities. These should be encouraged and further developed in a safe, structured learning environment of mutual respect between students and teachers. Mistakes are a critical part of learning, and students should feel comfortable trying and being allowed, even encouraged, to try multiple times to master the skill when they don’t quite get it the first time. This type of classroom environment builds confidence for future learning attempts.”
Decatur County Schools is proud to have been Ms. Anita’s home for 37 years. We appreciate her dedication to the many students she has influenced in her time in education and are very glad for her to have been given this award in the last month of her extraordinary career. As a token of appreciation, she was presented by a plaque from the district and a gift card and certificate from American Fidelity. Thank you for your service and dedication to the students of Decatur County!
