Teacher Feature: Cameron’s parents pushed her to teach

By Tracy Neal

Betty Cameron

Betty Cameron grew up in Campaign. Both of her late parents were teachers there and wanted her to follow in their footsteps.

This was especially true for Cameron’s mother, who persistently encouraged Betty to become an educator. “It was all my mother talked about,” she says.

Perhaps out of youthful rebellion, Betty pursued beauty school and worked as a secretary before deciding to try substitute teaching. “Once I tried it, I loved it,” she says. “I’m so thankful my mother encouraged me so much to become a teacher.”

Cameron was a cheerleader at Tennessee Tech while earning her degree. She taught at Baxter and Nashville early in her career, but has been at Eastside for 28 years now.

Cameron says she loves teaching her kindergarten students, but says there is so much more the toddlers are supposed to learn in their first year of school than there once was. Her answer to the challenge is music.

“I always try to encourage my kids,” she says. “Through music, the children learn reading, vowels, etc. and don’t even realize they’re learning. It’s fun for them, and they love listening to me play the piano. The music relaxes them.”

Robin Underhill, whose son Logan is in Cameron’s class, says Logan has a lot of fun in his kindergarten class.

“She plays games with them and teaches them at the same time,” said Underhill. “He’s learning to read and having fun, too. He doesn’t realize he’s doing lessons.”

Kindergarten is an exciting grade to teach for Cameron. “You can work with them, and suddenly you see the light come on and you know they’ve got it,” she says. “By the end of the year, they’ve come such a long ways. The hardest part, for me, is giving them up to their next teacher.”

Cameron deals with many parents who were once her own students. “I remember my parents saying no matter how tired they were or how bad the day had gone, they could look at a student and think to themselves ‘I had your mom and dad’ and it was such a wonderful feeling,” she recalls. “That’s exactly how I feel.”

Betty has a daughter, who teaches in Cookeville, and three grandchildren (ages 4, 7, and 9). The grandkids gave new meaning to teaching for Cameron. When she’s not teaching she enjoys playing the piano, walking, cooking, and swimming.

Cameron’s advice to anyone considering a career in education is to substitute first. “Take on a class and see how you like it. Praise and encourage the kids, and you’ll get a lot back from them.”

Cameron gets plenty of love back from her kindergarten kids, including the nickname “Mommy Teacher.”

Now that’s love!