WCU alum Frisby named NC SHAPE Middle School PE Teacher of the Year
There鈥檚 a lot that Canaan Frisby likes about his job. Being a physical education teacher is all he ever wanted to do since middle school.
鈥淚t's never boring. The kids keep it so exciting. I try to keep the kids excited, so we feed off each other's energy a lot of the time, so just coming in and hanging out with all of our students is just a lot of fun,鈥 he said.
鈥淭eaching physical education at this age group, there is never a dull moment. You never dread it. It's always exciting.鈥
Since he graduated from 91女神 in 2018, Frisby鈥檚 rewards have been in those moments he gets to cherish in Buncombe County school gyms 鈥 and statewide awards have been welcome, too.
Frisby, a PE teacher at Charles T. Koontz Intermediate School in Asheville, was named the North Carolina Society for Health and Physical Education Middle School PE Teacher of the Year.
鈥淭hat's really exciting for me. I've been going to NC SHAPE for a long time,鈥 Frisby said. 鈥淗aving a lot of my mentors nominating me for this award, and then the committee votes on who gets it, was pretty exciting for me because I just respect a lot of these people.鈥
NC SHAPE is a nonprofit organization of health, physical education, recreation, dance, athletics and sport management professionals from across the state. Frisby has been a member of the organization since he was a sophomore at WCU.
As a result of being named NC SHAPE Middle School PE Teacher of the Year, Frisby will distribute a curriculum program, which is part of what got him selected, this summer. Frisby was also selected for his work in helping other PE teachers.
鈥淲hen we see or learn about our students doing really well in their field, we just puff up our chest a little bit more, like, 'Hey, he's one of ours. Look at him now,'鈥 said Dan Grube, one of Frisby鈥檚 former professors in the College of Education and Allied Professions.
鈥淲e really enjoyed him in the program. He was enthusiastic. He wanted to do well. He wanted to be good at his craft. He's from Buncombe County, so he's not just teaching there. He grew up there.鈥
Frisby has spent his entire young career with Buncombe County Schools where he鈥檚 also picked up school and district teacher of the year honors. It鈥檚 also the same district where he was a student and competed as a track athlete at North Buncombe High School.
Coming out of high school, Frisby garnered a few Division I track offers before settling on WCU. However, a semester in, Frisby had left the Catamount track and field team 鈥 but his aspiration to be a PE teacher remained.
The faculty inside the School of Teaching and Learning were there to help him reach his dream.
鈥淎 lot of the professors there just took me under their wing,鈥 Frisby said. 鈥淭hey just saw I had a passion for it and then made me do everything. They're like, 'Hey, go watch this PE teacher go to this school and take over and substitute teach for them.
鈥淚 was always busy because they were motivating me and wanting me to continue to grow. Then, as I progressed and then started to graduate, they were super helpful in my placement in an internship, which helped me then move into a career in Buncombe County, because that's where I wanted to teach.鈥
After earning his bachelor鈥檚 degree in health and physical education, Frisby also pursued a master鈥檚 in school administration from WCU just to keep in his back pocket if he wants to be a school administrator in the future.
But for now, he鈥檚 just trying to take in his time in the gym 鈥 an hour up the road from where he started blossoming into the teacher he is.
鈥(WCU) has one of the best education colleges there is. In the state of North Carolina, there's just not as good of an education pathway as there is in Cullowhee,鈥 Frisby said.
鈥淲estern started out as a teaching school. That's what its foundation is built on is a teaching school, and so I feel that the opportunities and the resources that are at Western are centered on education in a lot of ways.鈥