Cantrell’s cosmetology hopes took back seat to teaching
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“He threw a fit. He never went to college and he wanted something better for me,” Cantrell said. “He also said I wouldn’t like standing on my feet all day, which turned out to be ironic because as a teacher I’m on my feet all day.”
A 1988 graduate of Warren County Senior High, Cantrell heeded her father’s wishes and, having a fondness for kids after working at day care and a YMCA, opted to go into education. She subsequently earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and her master’s degree in administration, both at Tennessee Tech.
Her entire nine-year teaching career has been at Eastside, where she has taught every grade from first through sixth, and currently teaches fifth- and sixth-grade math.
Cantrell said she enjoys teaching, but it is not without its challenges. One of the biggest, she said, is there’s no curriculum that fits every child. Her students (like all students) are all on different levels, making it hard to teach, and reach, every child.
Additionally, she said, some of her students’ primary concerns are not learning, but rather if they’re going to eat later in the day, or who will be at home when they return there. These kinds of things make her job all the more difficult, she said.
“If I could come to school and just teach it would be ideal, but I just can’t do that because on any given day I have to be mom, nurse, counselor, etc.,” she said.
In addition to her regular teaching duties, she also works as an extended contract teacher before and after school when she tutors Eastside students who are in need of extra academic help.
When not at school Cantrell said she enjoys spending time her with her husband, Steve, and her son, Lee. Her hobbies include reading and bowling.