Annie Riddick, who teaches Kindergarten at Charlotte Latin School, has enough energy to power the entire campus. She spent most of her life near the Outer Banks of North Carolina, but moved to Charlotte in 2021 when she decided it was time for a change in her life. “And here I am going into my fourth year at this amazing school and it’s like a wonderland,” she marvels. “I can’t say enough wonderful things about the Kindergarten team here at Latin. We are really a tight-knit team.” 

Why do you teach Kindergarten?

You see the growth of the whole child. Sometimes they come in and they're not so independent — they're depending on you to do everything for them — and when they leave, they can do things for themselves. They can read and write, and they have this confidence about them that you feel really good to be a part of.

What about your personality makes you a good match with Kindergarten?

My plans are very thorough, but sometimes I fly by the seat of my pants. Kindergarteners talk about things that are so left-field sometimes, because they’re so inquisitive and curious about everything. I take their comments and run with it: sometimes what they say might spark a lesson and be an amazing experience, for them and for me. You have this classroom full of students: you think you’re going to teach them all these things, but it’s really them teaching you how to be a better teacher. 

Tell me about a way you’re a better teacher now than when you came to Latin.

At Latin, I’m able to form a bond with the students: I can sit down and talk with them and teach them empathy. Some children come with empathy, and that’s great, and some children you have to teach it, and that’s okay. We teach them to cope with life. Even when we talk about our math lessons, one of the things we do is list what it means to be a mathematician: “I’m a mathematician because I persevere.” “I’m a mathematician because I ask questions.” “I’m a mathematician because I make mistakes.” I explain to parents that your child is going to make mistakes — when they do, take it as a learning opportunity.

How can you tell that what you’re doing in the classroom is working?

When they go home and talk about it. I get feedback from parents: “We were out to dinner and my kid said ‘I want to make sure that my volcano doesn’t erupt.’” They were making sure that they weren’t interrupting. When students can transfer what I’ve taught them, that’s when I feel like I’ve done something to make an imprint on their lives.

I once had a first-grader come see me. I said, “Eve, when is it okay to interrupt my teaching?” She said, “Fire, flood, blood, aliens, or LeBron James walks in.” It worked! 

Who was your favorite teacher when you were growing up?

I was very timid, very shy. And I never had that one teacher who I was truly able to connect with. That’s one reason I became a teacher: I don’t just want to be their kindergarten teacher, I want them to look back and say “I really enjoyed being with Mrs. Riddick because she saw who I was every single day.”

What do you do for fun on weekends?

My son, Seven, he’s 13, so he’s coming into this age where he likes to cook and wants to do it for himself. So we try out new recipes. I love to bake: in high school, my after-school job was at a bakery, making chocolate 12-layer cakes.

Once a month, I travel home to Elizabeth City, about six hours away, to sing with a ministry I'm part of, named Kingdom; we have a song, “Waymaker,” out on Apple Music. We never in a million years dreamed that it would be like this: we just love singing together in church. I come from a long line of musicians and singers. It’s a large family: each of my parents had 13 brothers and sisters.

What do you sing in the shower?

I’m not stuck to one genre. I love country. Every now and again, I’ll get a wild hair and try to sound like Beyoncé, but really I’m an old hymns kind of girl.

What’s your favorite movie?

Probably the Equalizer movies with Denzel Washington. I don’t like him because he’s this huge heartthrob — he’s the same age as my dad — but I respect that he’s very professional, and he adores and honors his wife so much.

What’s the last good book you read?

How to Know a Person by David Brooks! I started reading this book and I’m like, “Gosh, I know how to read people.” And then a line stuck with me: you’re not as good as you think you are. It opened my eyes: when somebody’s talking to you, it’s important that you give them attention and let them know that you really want to get to know them.

Tell me a favorite story from last year.

My class last year had so much personality that it was just unthinkable. One day, the Lower School counselor came in to observe my classroom. One student sat next to her and said, “Do you know my mom?” She said, “Yes, I know your mom.” He looked at her and said, “She is all up in my business.”

How do you map out a week in the classroom?

I’m a workaholic. I will stay here until six if I need to, until I feel that it’s right. Because when you walk into a classroom of 19 kindergarteners, you better know what you’re doing or they will run you. They crave structure, and that’s what makes learning so much fun for them.

I start planning on the Wednesday or Thursday before. I try not to take work home, because I give a lot of myself to my students in the classroom, and when I’m home I want to be a mom. I talk to my assistant Mrs. B. [Kelly Brown] a lot: What do you see that I might be missing that the kids need to work on? What are they struggling with? I let my students’ needs drive my instruction. If I don’t feel like they’re ready to move on to something new, we don’t move on. I want everybody to feel confident in what they’re doing when they leave this room.