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Emily Burns, a Madill native, discovered her path while being a high school substitute teacher. Courtesy photo
Volunteering as a substitute teacher while in college, Madill native Emily Burns discovered her calling and was compelled to alter her career path.
While studying prerequisite courses for optometry school at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, she enlisted to substitute teach at a local high school.
“It was very awesome just to walk into that first class substituting. I fell completely in love with it,” Burns said. “It’s a whole lot different being in the classroom than leading a classroom.”
Her experience in the classroom was the catalyst for her to change her major from preoptometry to education.
Burns, a Chickasaw citizen, hails from a family legacy of teachers, so she innately understood the issues, stressors and commitment educators face.
Once she made the switch to an education major, however, Burns instinctively knew she made the right choice. The study material was almost second nature, she said.
“All my classes and tests were easy. I was doing really well on them. That showed me this is where I need to be,” she said. She earned a degree in
She earned a degree in Elementary Education from SEOSU, with assistance from the Chickasaw Nation, and is now halfway through her second year of teaching in her hometown. She teaches first grade at Madill Elementary School.
Her first year was cut short when the novel coronavirus shut down in-person learning at the school following spring break.
This semester, class has been in person except for a few days when class was conducted remotely.
“Teaching first graders remotely presents a bit of a challenge to keep their attention and focus, and on task,” she said.
There are many different resources for teachers to help each other improve remote learning, she said, noting teachers, as well as students, are learning how to navigate distance learning together.
Quarantined for a week before Thanksgiving, Burns said she missed being with her class, but was grateful some parents would send texts letting her know the children were anticipating her return to the classroom.
Witnessing the students’ progress is her favorite part of being a teacher.
“What I love about first grade, when they first come in they know their letters and can blend a few sounds. By the time they leave first grade, they can just pick up a book and read it throughout. Seeing all that growth in one year is so rewarding,” she said.
Burns shared a story of one student who, at the beginning of the school year, did not want to be called upon to read aloud.
“He would say, ‘I can’t read,’ and I would encourage him, ‘yes you can, we are learning how to read.’ Now, he is the first one to raise his hand to read. It is so cool to see their boost of confidence, and it just comes so quickly.”
A smaller classroom of 14 students was required this year to accommodate COVID-19 social-distancing protocol. The smaller class size makes teaching one-on-one much easier, she said.
Even with all the challenges that beginning a career in education during a pandemic can bring, Burns remains positive and displays the Chickasaw values of perseverance and a “can do” attitude.
“These two years were hard ones to start on, but that is only going to make the future that much easier when we have a normal year,” she laughed, adding, “We got the hard year out of the way, hopefully.”
Burns’ Chickasaw heritage stems from her paternal grandmother Lucille Coleman, and her father William Coleman, who all live in Madill.
Her material grandfather Ray McGahey, also resides in Madill.
She is now a part of her families’ legacy in education. Her mother, the late Joyce Coleman, and her late maternal grandmother Elizabeth McGahey, both served as teachers, along with many aunts and cousins.
Outside of the classroom, she works part-time at Amazing Grace Boutique in Madill, where she has worked since she was high school student.
She is also busy preparing for the arrival of her first baby in the spring, and helps her husband, Tucker Burns, with farming and ranching duties.