Mr. Freeman is one the few teachers here at Gig Harbor High School who is also an alumni. In the following interview, he explains his experience going to school in the area, how he came to work at GHHS, and finally his teaching career thus far.

Q: What do you teach here at Gig Harbor High School?

A: “I teach two classes of sophomore World History and two classes of A.P. U.S Government, and one class of Speech and Debate which I teach alongside Mr. Coovert. Mr. Coovert taught Speech and Debate when I went to school here, so I never really left, I just continued helping out with Speech and Debate after I graduated high school and it kind of gave me a connection to the school.”

Q: What is your favorite subject to teach?

A: “I like teaching the sophomores; I like teaching World History. I like A.P. Government too, but my first year teaching here I taught five World History classes and I really liked teaching at that sophomore level.”

Q: Would you say that history is something you are passionate about?

A: “I don’t know if passionate is the right word; I like teaching. History is the class that I teach because it was the easiest class for me in college and high school.”

Q: Describe your role as an advisor for Speech and Debate.

A: “Well really Mr. Coovert is the head advisor so I help him out. I mostly coach students. I help them do what they do and I help them do it better.”

Q: Did your experience doing Speech and Debate during high school influence you as an advisor?

A: “Yeah, a little bit. I’ve been a student so I had gotten the experience of what it’s like to compete. I don’t think there’s anybody out there who’s coaching a group that hasn’t had that same experience as a competitor.”

Q: Did you grow up in Gig Harbor all your life?

A: “No, I was born up in Seattle and lived in the South Everett/Lynnwood area for the first ten years of my life. I moved to Gig Harbor in the beginning of middle school. I went to Goodman. Right at the transition between elementary school and middle school, my dad got a new job in Tacoma.”

Q: How was your experience going to school at Gig Harbor High School?

A: “It was a good school. It still is. I did running start for the second two years of school, so I was only here as a freshman and sophomore. I did debate here at Gig Harbor while I did running start for TCC.”

Q: What made you want to come back here to Gig Harbor High School as a teacher?

A: “When I was doing my student teaching, I did it here, because it was convenient. I went to PLU to get my teaching degree, and it was nice coming back. I enjoyed seeing the people I had taken classes from and teaching alongside them and learning from them.”

Q: Lastly, what is the most gratifying aspect of your job?

A: “The most gratifying aspect of my job is when students actually appreciate the effort I put into it because it’s very easy, I think, for a student to just sit back and watch the teacher do stuff. But when students actually get involved and actually value what the teachers put into it then I think that that is the most gratifying. When students come back and say ‘Hey, this thing that you taught me I used later on’ then that is the best thing that they can do.”