Emily Hartman

 

1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held?

I graduated with my undergraduate degree in Secondary Education-Social Studies in May 2018 (and a minor in political science), in the fall I will be starting my master’s degree online through Slippery Rock! After graduation, I accepted my current position as a High School History teacher in Campbell County Virginia, just outside of Lynchburg, Virginia. I currently teach World History and Geography 1 and Virginia/United States History at Brookville High.

2. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

It’s hard to pinpoint a specific item or piece of my work to label it the “most” rewarding but I would have to say the most rewarding part of my job has been seeing my students latch on to a specific lesson or  a topic of history that we studied and tell me that its their new favorite or that they enjoyed it. No matter what has happened throughout the school year, the first time I saw my students engaged and loving being in class made my journey to becoming a teacher worth it.

3. What advice would you give to current students who are enrolled in the teacher preparation program, and to SRU students generally?

My advice for current CoE students and all students is to take as many opportunities to grow your knowledge and pad your resume. These will not only help you grow as a student, but this will give you important learning experiences to take advantage of and will give you a multitude of things to reflect on as you become a professional. I participated in a summer session World War 1 course through the History Department that allowed me travel to England, France and Belgium. I used the experiences I learned on my trip in my classroom. My students really enjoyed the personal knowledge I included during my trip and it helped them to latch on to the information regarding the section. Another piece of advice I would give to students is to keep your notes from your education classes, they really helped me!

4. Name an SRU experience or faculty that had a positive influence on you and explain why.

It isn’t until you get outside of Slippery Rock University that you really get to see how well known our education program is in other communities.  Throughout my job search process, I had many administrators tell me that they love hiring SRU teachers because of how well trained we are. I’d like to thank the Education faculty—most specifically the SEFE professors for always being so transparent and continuing to inspire the passion for educating in us all. Dr. Hilton, who was my academic adviser before my professor, taught me some of the most important lessons in my career at SRU. He really helps you learn about the different ways you can incorporate different learning styles and different methodology of teaching social studies. As Hilton says, “His lifetime guarantee” has been beneficial to me as I started my first year of teaching. Dr. Yamamoto who was my Student Teaching adviser helped me to better reflect on my teaching experiences and to help me grow as an educator. Thank you to Dr. Heather Rice of the Political Science department for being a mentor to me and helping me dig deeper to discover a passion for politics and for being a genuine person inside and outside the classroom.   

5. What makes a great teacher?

A great teacher isn’t just someone who just teaches their content from bell to bell but also cares about their students, forms a lasting connection and mentors their students in times of need. I was inspired to become a teacher because I had a teacher who did the same for me in high school.  It is my goal and dream to do that for my students now. A great teacher also helps connect their school with their community. My school has multiple clubs and organizations that work with the community and to better serve the school as an entirety.