Taylor Bowman

 1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held? Please include the current school district and grade/s.

I graduated with a dual bachelor's degree in Early Childhood (PK-4) and Special Education (PK-8) from Slippery Rock University in the Spring of 2021. I added a Special Education 7-12 certification in my junior year of college. I am also a proud Slippery Rock Honors College graduate. Since graduating, I have held several teaching positions. Currently, I am a K-1 and 4th grade Learning Support Teacher at Claysville Elementary School in McGuffey School District. This is my first year in the district. Last school year, I was a long-term substitute teacher at West Mifflin Area Middle School in Fourth-Grade ELA Learning Support in the spring and a Fourth-Grade ELA teacher at Propel Braddock Hills Elementary School in the fall and winter. I also taught as an Extended School Year teacher at the Pine Richland Youth Center in the Summer of 2021. Last summer, I was also a summer camp counselor for Extended Day Services in Keystone Oaks School District.

2. Name one SRU experience, in general or specific to the field, that you will never forget and explain why.

One SRU experience that helped me grow was working at the SGA Preschool in the summer/fall during the pandemic. I learned how to handle difficult situations effectively, gained strong classroom management skills that helped me excel in student teaching, and learned to teach basic number sense and letters (which has helped me in my position teaching the younger grades this school year).

3. Name an SRU faculty that had a positive influence on you and explain why.

I had taken a few special education classes with Dr. Jessica Hall-Wirth. My sophomore year of college, we had to complete a community service requirement involving working with individuals with disabilities. This is when she provided me the opportunity to become involved with the Pine Richland Youth Center’s Students with Exceptional Abilities Parent Night Out program. I remained active with this program throughout college. Eventually, she offered me the opportunity to teach the program’s Extended School Year program the summer after I graduated. This position allowed me to dive deeper into working with IEP goals and adapting instruction to fit the needs of my students. The position also helped me gain more experience in helping students through behavioral challenges. Not only has she provided me with many opportunities to grow, but her continued passion in the field of special education is something that I look up to and admire greatly.

4. What initially piqued your interest in pursuing a degree in education?

I grew up with my mom working as a keyboarding teacher at the middle school level. Throughout my childhood, I spent time during the afternoons helping her with her classroom needs (erasing whiteboards, restocking printer paper, pushing in chairs). I also would come in during the summers to help stock her school store and pick out summer reading books at the school’s library. Being in the school environment was exciting, and I loved feeling like I was making a difference (even though I was completing small tasks to help my mom and her students).

5. What do you love most about teaching?

I love to watch my students reach their greatest potential. What is especially exciting to watch during my math and reading intervention groups is watching my students develop basic math and reading skills that we work on each day. When a student exits my intervention group after showing continuous proficiency, it makes me proud because the student has proved that he or she can be more independent in the general education classroom. That feeling of pride is truly the best feeling!

6. What makes a great teacher?

A great teacher is a teacher who advocates for his or her students. This means that the teacher works to ensure that every student is receiving instruction and practice that fits his or her academic needs. This statement also implies that the teacher communicates with the student and other faculty members to uncover what each student needs to succeed behaviorally. It is essential for a great teacher to push students to reach their greatest potential.  A great teacher is also able to create an environment with consistency, structure, acceptance, and love.

I have a teaching Instagram: @123andmissb if other SRU students/alumni would like to follow and pick up some new tips and tricks to add to their instruction/teaching lifestyles. I also have a Teachers Pay Teachers store: @123 and Miss B if any SRU students/alumni would like to check out and download some resources that I have made for and used with my students!