Katherine Nettles is the daughter of two teachers, so she would admit it’s not much of a surprise she picked the profession as well.

“Both my parents are teachers, so I guess you could say I was destined in some way to mirror them,” Nettles says. “Personally, I enjoyed the social aspect of school, so a huge attraction to teaching was knowing I would be around kids and other people.”

Nettles has taught arts and enrichment at Daphne Middle School for two-and-a-half years. She is also an assistant volleyball coach at the school.

Along with her parents, Nettles says she was also inspired by her college supervisor to be the teacher she is today.

“My college supervisor Joyce Woodburn inspired me to be professional, love children unforgivingly and infuse academic rigor to really give my students the type of learning environment with which they can thrive,” Nettles says. “While I am nowhere close to achieving those goals, I am progressing in the right direction.”

When asked about her favorite aspect of teaching, Nettles laughs and says the funny moments are what brings joy to her classroom every day.

“My favorite aspect of teaching would be the embarrassing moments that take place after you have established the culture within the classroom, or when I mess up and the kids encourage me,” Nettles says. “They don't realize it, but when those things happen they make my job so very enjoyable.”

Nettles says she hopes to use humor and creativity in her classroom to inspire her students to be accountable, hard-working and creative individuals.

Whether a student receives straight ‘A’s or barely gets by, Nettles says she has learned to love them all the same.

“I think one thing people don't know about the teaching profession is how much we really love the kids; we love the ones who blurt, who smell bad, who have a "bad history," who give us attitude, who do their work, who help others, who hold each other accountable,” Nettles says. “We so want each of the kids to succeed; that's why we fuss at them or "nag" them like their second-mother would – because they are worth fussing over.”

TEACHER: Katherine Nettles

SCHOOL: Daphne Middle School

SUBJECT(S) TAUGHT: Arts and enrichment