Ms. Braswell’s personality and teaching style go hand in hand with her caring personality to her unique style of teaching. Juniors Josie Biondo and Aries Williams both think highly of Ms. Braswell: She is caring and understanding.

“There are so many things I can say about her, she is such an amazing person, she has been there for me through tough times. She is very caring and loves her students with all her heart,” Biondo said. “She is the person I go to when I have good or a hard time. I feel comfortable to talk to her about anything and I’m glad I had a teacher that made me feel that way.”

Williams explains that if students are struggling with something, she focuses on how to help them better understand the concept.

“She just is an overall really good teacher, she’s always willing to help and wants the best for you,” Williams said.

Braswell teaches English I, Reading Enrichment and Reading and Writing Workshop.

She has taught for 11 years, and student taught at Ritenour High School which turned into a long term sub job for a full semester and then summer school.

She was hired at Frontier and worked in seventh grade ELA for six years before coming to Liberty.

When students walk into Braswell’s classroom, there are couches and comfy chairs all over her room. There are no desks with uncomfortable chairs. Her teaching style is like no other.

Students walk in everyday and feel like they are at home and not at school. Most students gather around the couches before class starts and even during classes.

“It is pretty relaxed in here, I like to think about the big picture and have things relate to teenagers and not focus so much on the ‘teachy teachy’ objectives right away. I like to let the students figure those out,” Ms. Braswell said. “I am kind of hands off. I give you what you need to do and what you need to know and it is totally up to you if you chose to do the work.”

She explains that she teaches the way she does because in high school, not everyone is going to hold your hand every step of the way and you have to move forward yourself and she wants her students to have a good understanding of what that is like.  

Despite her understanding personality and hands off style of teaching, Braswell like most teachers, face some daily challenges.

“In my opinion, phones are my biggest problem in teaching. As a self-proclaimed phone addict, I have realized in order for myself to be productive, I have to turn my Do Not Disturb on and my sound off while working. I do not think students realize how much time and focus it takes away from their learning,” Braswell said.

To handle the situations of phones instead of taking them away, she tries to instill positive phone habits. This is just one of the many ways Braswell tries to make the class more relatable to life.

She went to Mizzou originally, to major in journalism and then switched majors to education.

“I love reading books, writing and I love being around teenagers so it is a perfect fit,” Ms. Braswell said.