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Terry Freeman, who received his education at Medicine Hat public schools and then spent his entire career teaching at them, is this year's Honoured Educator.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel
Medicine Hat Public School Division’s 2019 Honoured Educator is a product of the local public education system.
“I’m humbled and appreciative,” said Terry Freeman, who was born and raised in the Hat, attending Vincent Massey and Crescent Heights High schools.
He was nominated for the award by some staff at River Heights School, where he taught until his retirement last year.
Freeman studied education at the University of Lethbridge, graduating in 1981 before furthering his studies with Gonzaga University, where he received his master’s in education in 1985.
In that period, he began his first teaching job with MHPSD at the Montreal Street Elementary School, where he taught for five years.
“There was nothing else I ever wanted to do,” said Freeman. “I knew from an early age I wanted to be a teacher and I wanted to teach in Medicine Hat. It was serendipitous that I was offered my first job here. I immediately took it and stayed my entire career.”
Relatively early in his career, Freeman hit a fork in the road, where he realized he must transform his way of teaching or find another job.
Of course, he opted for the former.
“I struggled. I was using a system I adopted from my predecessor and I’m sure it worked for him but it wasn’t working for me,” Freeman explained.
“It wasn’t working in my mind. I thought there was a better way to engage students, so I started trying.”
This lead to him establishing a “magnet school” system at River Heights, which Roy Wilson – the namesake of another MHPSD school – called in a book “arguably the most interesting innovative initiative of the mid-1990s”.
A magnet school espouses a philosophy of integrated technology, problem solving, as well as critical and creative thinking.
“Everything was based around themes and problems. We articulated that common belief from Grade 1 to Grade 6,” said Freeman.
“A number of the things that we undertook 20-some years ago are now pretty mainstay.”
Although formally retired, Freeman is still busy with educational commitments.
He supervises Mount Royal University students via a joint program with Medicine Hat College, serves as a substitute teacher, is working with a publisher on material for the upcoming revamped curriculum and consults school boards around the region on establishing a more community-oriented classroom through the Tribe initiative.
Education is the family business for the Freemans.
He’s taught both his kids, who are now teachers who’ve taught alongside Terry. He also met his wife, Carolyn – an MHPSD trustee, when he worked at Montreal Street, where Carolyn served as a speech pathologist.
“It was an honour and a privilege,” he said of teaching his children and then having them become his colleagues.
“It was the highlight of my life. That and meeting my wife in a school.”
