Carolyn Nabours began her 40th year of teaching in August at the Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy.

Nabours is a proud Southwest Louisiana native, and hails from Jennings. After graduating from Jennings High  School, she went on to earn her Bachelor’s of Arts in Education for grades kindergarten through 8 from McNeese State University.

Upon graduation, Nabours began teaching her “dream grade level,” Kindergarten, at Welsh Elementary. She then went on to teach kindergarten at College Oaks Elementary and Royal Independent in Pattison, Texas.

After moving back to Lake Charles, she spent 12 years teaching at Barbe Elementary. There she taught kindergarten for 10 years and first for two years. She also taught kindergarten for some time at Lebleu Settlement Elementary before retiring from the Calcasieu Parish School Board system.

However, she didn’t stop there. After retiring, Nabours spent one year teaching at the Lake Charles Charter Academy and seven years teaching at Holy Family Catholic School.

Currently, she teaches kindergarten at the Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy. This is where she has been for the last two years.

Nabours’ inspiration to become a teacher came from the encouragement of her loved ones, especially her mother. “I got started teaching with the love and support of my family,” she said. “My wonderful mother inspired me when I was young watching her give swimming lessons to children with special needs.”

Through witnessing her mother’s compassion, Nabours felt drawn to working with children. “I saw her love and patience with the children and how they loved her back.”

Throughout her 40 years of teaching, she has found that she derives the most joy when her students show joy after learning a new skill. “I enjoy watching the spark of excitement of my students when they realize they can read a book,” she said. “Not just a sentence, but the entire book!”

Nabours’ educator’s philosophy is simple. “I believe all children can learn, but not all at the same pace and learning style.”

For her, it is important to take into consideration the individual learning styles of each student, and exhibit enough patience and compassion to understand that each student has different needs.

Nabours has learned a great deal about communication from her students. “My students help me by peer to peer interaction,” she explained. “I love to watch them work in groups or with partners.”

Through watching her students interact, she has learned how to appropriately communicate. “They learn to listen and wait for their turn to talk. They learn so much from their peers.”

Nabours believes that education is important in turning out skilled citizens. “Education helps the community by producing graduates that get a job and become productive citizens,” she said.

She wants future teachers to keep this in mind. According to Nabours, it is also important that future educators know to rely on their peers to learn and improve their teaching skills. “Surround yourself with positive co-workers that will challenge you to become a better teacher.”