Monday, December 2, 2024
Mrs. Friel was an exceptional teacher of religion at Edgarton Christian Academy for the children in 5th through 8th grades. The children loved her!!!! Her classes were informative and devotional since she conducted a prayer service at the start of each class. I was most impressed with how much Mrs. Friel knew about her faith, the bible, and world religions and most of it was self-taught. I often saw that she was reading a book on religious history or theology and then I would see some interesting topic in her lesson plans for her classes that reflected what she was reading. Since, as a Christian School, Edgarton focused on teaching from a biblical perspective, Mrs. Friel had to develop an instructional program tailored to that perspective since there were no textbooks for the 7th and 8th grades at that time. She developed a 7th grade curriculum focused upon New Testament, and an 8th grade curriculum which covered world religions taught through a lens of tolerance and respect. The children loved learning from her. In addition to her ability to make learning fun and interesting for all grade levels, Mrs. Friel served as a beautiful example of how to love the Lord. She wore her faith proudly and lived as Jesus wants us to live while serving as a wonderful role model to our children and to me as well. I was proud to be Tara's principal and she was a blessing to Edgarton's staff and our children. We will keep your family in our prayers at Edgarton and we will never forget Mrs. Friel's contribution to our school and our children .
