Who Are the New Teachers at FHS?
Mr. Barton teaches American Government and World History, and he is an assistant coach for our football team here at FHS. This is Coach Barton’s second year of teaching, working in Kennet, MO the previous year. Barton received his bachelor’s at SEMO and coached there as well.
When asked why he teaches, he says, “I want to make an impact on kids. A lot of people have made that impact on me, and I want to have that effect on others. Teaching is my number one, I haven’t even considered anything else.” Sadly, most careers have a downside to them, Barton however did not have much negative things to say about the job. As he states, “Last year I had a lot on my plate, Mrs. Reutzel and Coach Eaves haven’t made it difficult for me. I don’t really have negatives because it truly is a blessing to teach. If there’s anything I could think of though, I think seeing trauma in kids can be heart breaking.”
As one could imagine, Coach Barton has a lot on his plate during the fall while he’s coaching football. Once again, he only has positive things to say, ” Coaching is awesome. I hate when the season is over, I still research and watch film. That’s why I wanted this job, I love teaching them [students and athletes] new things and seeing them execute it.”
One of the last questions asked to Mr. Barton was how he felt about our new principal, Nickey Reutzel, and how it was to work under her. By what Barton states, he seems to think a lot of her. He says, “Working under her is phenomenal. Coach Eave’s doesn’t get a lot of recognition, he’s awesome too! They both have been very supportive. Mr. Gibbs brought me here, then Mrs. Reutzel stepped in. She has been really great. She has an extremely hard job too, with being principal, a volleyball coach, and a mom. I’ve never had as much support as what I do now, I truly couldn’t be more blessed.”
Coach Barton would like to add how thankful he is for everyone and this community. “I want to thank Fredericktown for letting me be here, Mrs. Reutzel, Coach Eaves, Mr. Gibbs, all of my students, fellow football coaches, and the players. I couldn’t be happier to be a blackcat.” Fredericktown is certainly happy to have you, Mr. Barton!
Angi Ganime-Poor, or as her students call her, Mrs. G., teaches English III. This is her sixteenth-year teaching, previously teaching at Greenville, MO. There she taught English II, III, and IV, as well as some electives. Mrs. Ganime attended College of the Ozarks in Branson, MO, where she obtained a BA in Mass Communication: Print Journalism.
Mrs. Ganime teaches because she discovered that after college, she didn’t want to be in the journalism field. She soon tried to pursue a job with Enterprise Rent-a-Car but explains that she didn’t care for it. She had a love for persuasive and effective writing, so she took several writing classes that she enjoyed, her favorite being the creative writing courses. With that, she believed she would enjoy a career that involved reading and writing. She started to sub and eventually became an aide. Mrs. Ganime explains soon after that, her very own high school English teacher was retiring, and she was hired in her place.
Mrs. Ganime-Poor explains her favorite and least favorite parts of teaching, both seeming to be very understandable. She says, “Like most teachers, I love when students connect to the lesson and really “get” it. I also like making personal connections with my students, getting to know them and understanding them. On the flip side, student apathy is extremely high, so one of the most challenging parts of teaching is breaking through to students who don’t seem to care about learning or doing well in class. Caring more than a student does is one of my least favorite parts of this career.” I’m sure the other teachers would agree, Mrs. G.
As far as clubs and activities go, Ganime-Poor says that she is currently not in charge of anything of the sort. However, she shares that she coached cheer for several years at Greenville. “Which at times was a lot of fun,” she exclaims. “However, balancing an extracurricular with your home life and regular workload, can be rather difficult and time consuming, which is why I stopped coaching once I decided to become a mother.”
Mrs. G. wanted to share about her family, and states they are the main reason she is currently teaching here. “I have two small children (Kent – 5; Alley – 2) to whom I devote the majority of my time. My family comes first, which is why I decided to come to FHS. My husband and I have lived in Fredericktown for nine years, and now that our son is in kindergarten, I thought it would be best if we were both in this district.” FHS admires strong dedication to family. We are very thankful to have Mrs. Ganime-Poor on board!
This teacher oversees online course students, he is also the head football coach here at FHS. You guessed it, Coach Williams, more formally known as Steve Williams. Williams has a lot of experience teaching. He previously taught at Patton, MO for a year and a half, Cape Girardeau High School and Cape Girardeau Junior High in Missouri for twenty-six years, and Symrna High School in Tennessee for 10 years. He earned his bachelor’s at SEMO in Physical Education: 7th through 12th grade, along with his master’s at SEMO in Secondary School Administration.
Williams says he wanted to teach to stay involved in sports and coaching. Coach Will played sports all through high school, all through college, and even played in Pro Baseball! He says the best of teaching is “Seeing young people succeed and grow.” When digging into the worst parts of teaching, Williams kept it simple and had the answer that most teachers agree with. “My least favorite part of teaching is not being able to help those students that don’t want it,” he says. Unlike most of the teachers, he had something to differ from his least favorite part of teaching and the hardest part of teaching. He explains, “The hardest part of teaching is sometimes discipline the that helps students.”
Just like Coach Barton, Coach Will is busy with football in the fall. He was asked to describe the challenge of teaching while coaching a team. He explains, “It’s part of my job.” He also states how important it is to have work ethic to make both jobs work. “You make it work where both jobs are done well, and both students and athletes are provided with the tools they need to succeed as they move on in life.” Fredericktown is grateful to have you Coach Will!
Janice Arnold teaches an English I class for freshmen. She also revealed that she has previously taught at Lesterville High in Missouri. Mrs. Arnold received her BA at Columbia College in Columbia, MO.
Ms. Arnold became a teacher because she loves education, so she wanted to share that with others, and feels a sense of fulfillment doing so. When explaining her favorite and least favorite part of teaching she says “My favorite part of teaching is when my students actually have fun learning. My least favorite part about teaching is early mornings. I am not a morning person.” Our students can agree on that Mrs. Arnold!
