Ms. Medley Coatney
Teaching Certificate in 1981
Interviewed by Robert Michael Worley and Vidisha Barua Worley on 03/10/2023
‘My son who was two, three at that time was in Baby Redbird. It was a day care for people who were going to school. And my son loved it.’ The Baby Redbird Day School at Lamar University had opened in February 1978 and closed its doors on May 31, 2012. It was a great success and served the community for 25 years.
‘I decided to go back and get my teaching certificate at Lamar. It took two years because in the middle of it I had a baby. It just was a nice experience. I got my teaching certificate. I taught for 27 years 23 in public school and 4 in a private school. One class I had to take was Texas History because I am from New Mexico. The teacher, Joanne Stiles was her name, and she was wonderful. She didn’t read out of a book. She told us stories. She had researched and researched. So, every Tuesday and Thursday we went for storytelling. We didn’t think we were learning.
‘My son who was two, three at that time was in Baby Red Birds. It was a day care for people who were going to school. (Lamar University had its own day care.) And my son loved it. The lady down the street and I carpooled she had a little boy too, the same age. So, it was very nice.’