Adair Hallman
Latin (Classes 3-5)
I am very blessed to be teaching at Heritage for my second year. I always dreamed of a school like Heritage, where the teachers, students, and families are equally passionate about learning and loving. As I look into my past, I realize that God was preparing me for this school since I was a young child. I feel that I have finally been led to the school God wants me to be. I look forward to growing here as a teacher and an individual.
I grew up in Atlanta and am very blessed to have my family live close by me today. I have a 26 year old sister, who graduated from UVA, and a 20 year brother, who is currently a student at SMU. My mother was a French teacher for one year and the best mom in the world. She also attended Summer Bible Camp at Heritage long ago! My father is a lawyer and was a fabulous example of discipline and determination. My grandmother was an elementary school teacher for 15 years and she was the person who helped me recognize my gift with children early on. I got married to my husband, Matt Hallman, in November 2005. We met at UGA and dated for several years before getting married. We were married in a special church (built in 1820) within the hills of Montpelier, Jamaica. We fell in love with Jamaica’s people and countryside and also developed a relationship with a school sponsored by the church. We knew it was our place that God had chosen for us to marry and share a special bond. We currently live in Peachtree Hills and have a cat named Zoey.
I do not think I knew that I really wanted to become a teacher until high school. I have always loved being around children and preferred to communicate with them more than adults. I think I was drawn to children from the beginning because of God’s passion that he instilled in me long ago, as well as my sensitive and loving nature. The desire to nurture children grew from the taking care of my two younger siblings at an early age. When I was 14, I started to play competitive tennis and became a highly ranked player by the time I was 16. During the summers I began coaching tennis camp to children that ranged from ages five to twelve. It was during this time coaching that my gift with children became clear to me. It was very rewarding to encourage a child and inspire them to try harder. I also was forced to learn how to manage and discipline large numbers of students. After my first summer coaching, I knew I would be a teacher. However, I was not quite sure what kind of a teacher until college.
I attended the University of Georgia and during my junior year I was fortunate enough to study abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France. While I was studying there, I also taught English to elementary school French students. This was challenging because I had to find effective methods for instructing beginners in a foreign language. Studying abroad was the defining moment in my life when I started to know God more intimately. I had always been a spiritual child and had a strong relationship with the Lord. Growing up in a Christian home, I knew how important it was to love Christ. I had a great experience attending Church of the Apostles, and had loved being a part of STS youth group. However, I do not think I had ever listened to Him fully until the moment I was abroad. This is when the Lord showed me how to tie my gift with children and my passion for language and history together. When I returned to Athens to finish college, I changed my major from Journalism and a minor in French, to French Education.
Since then I have had the opportunity to teach at several different competitive schools in Atlanta and have taught elementary and middle school French, Bible, and Reading.I have unfortunately watched the primary French programs at each school phase out. I decided that I had to determine whether my gift was teaching French or teaching children. I found the answer when I started teaching at Heritage last year. I realized that the subject is not what is the most important or what God intends me to focus on; it is to teach children the importance of knowing and loving Jesus Christ.
This year I will be teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade Latin. I am dedicated to focusing on teaching children that we need to keep our eyes fixed on our Lord Jesus Christ. I am determined to equip them with tools necessary to use their minds and develop into young men and women devoted to Jesus Christ.
