Anna Roe

1. What school district and grade/s do you currently teach?

After graduating from Slippery Rock University in 2018, I moved to Houghton, MI which is in the very northern part of the Upper Peninsula (yes, we do get a lot of snow up here!). I was hired by the Copper Country Intermediate School District this year to teach in their Early Mild Cognitive Impairment Program. My students range from kindergarten to 2nd grade and have various disabilities. It's definitely challenging on some days but I absolutely love my students, and I have an amazing team of paraprofessionals and coworkers who help make everyday successful and fun!

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

There are so many rewarding aspects of my job, but one thing I absolutely love is when my students show progress in their goals. After working so hard on a goal or objective, it's amazing to see my students start to show their understanding of what we have been working on. Whether it's showing an increase in ready to learn behaviors, independently identifying numbers up to 10, or being able to clearly communicate needs, I absolutely love getting to celebrate the big and small successes that my students have! 

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

At a training this year, the speaker who presented said something that has stuck with me this school year. He said, "The students in your classroom who are the hardest to love are the ones who need love the most.” You are going to have those hard students in your field experiences, during your student teaching, and in the classroom that you teach in after you graduate. Those students are going to stretch your patience, emotionally drain you, and make you wonder if you're doing your job right. You just have to remember that most of those students are coming from hard home lives or have been hurt in some way to cause the acting out. I know it can be hard sometimes, but don't forget to love on your difficult students as much as you love on the ones who are easy to love and teach.

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

I had so many great experiences at Slippery Rock so it's very hard to choose just one experience that I'll never forget. Probably the most memorable experience I had was becoming a member of the Musical Theatre Society. I had loved doing theater before coming to college and hoped to find a way to continue doing that. My (now) boyfriend encouraged me to try out for their fall cabaret and I'm so happy I did. I met a lot of wonderful people, got to continue doing something I loved, and made a lot of great memories!

5. What makes a great teacher?

A great teacher is made up of many things and I could probably go on and on about that. Overall, I think a great teacher is someone who genuinely cares for their students and does more than what is required of them. They go out of their way to help their students be successful at school whether that's making sure there are snacks for the one student who always comes in hungry or staying late at school to plan lessons and activities that will push their students to become independent. They encourages mistakes in their classroom and reminds students to learn from those mistakes. They meet the needs of every child in their care, and advocate to give students the education and services that they deserve.