Coleman Demonstrates Her Love for Teaching

Pamela Coleman

By Kathryn N. Jones
Outlook Writer

It was after she began to teach Sunday school in the projects at a Rec center at the age of 14 that Pamela Coleman, the youth leader at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, realized she wanted to be a teacher.

Growing up in Seattle, Wash., Coleman began her journey to Tallahassee when she was accepted into graduate school at Florida State University.

As her journey began to Tallahassee so did her journey at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. Coleman has been a member of Bethel for more than 30 years and has been teaching Sunday school since then.

She married her husband of 32 years at Bethel and raised their two children in the church. And recently, Bethel recognized Coleman with 14 others as honorees for Heritage Day in February.

“Bethel is a church that is hard to replicate, for example it took my daughter nine months to find a church like Bethel and I had to tell her there is no other like Bethel, our church is special,” Coleman said about her daughter who moved out of state.

Coleman not only teaches Sunday school at Bethel she also helps with children’s church, works with the college students, participates in the church’s dance team, sings in the choir and helps with the Bethel Education Support Team, which helps with different trainings for children.

There are many plans that Coleman has for the youth at Bethel. She hopes to be able to take the children on educational trips and to different HBCUs so that they can learn about their culture and experience different cities.

Coleman is currently a fifth grade teacher at Chaires Elementary School and she says she loves it because the children keep her cool.

“When I think of someone who is an educator I always think of Pam,” said Alexis Roberts McMillan. “I compare the other educators that I know to her and how she treats her children.”

Aside from being a teacher, Coleman is also a breast cancer survivor and hopes to become an educator on the topic.

Coleman retires in three years but says she still plans to teach as long as she doesn’t have to work on Mondays and Fridays.