Jensen Wehrli

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

I graduated from SRU in 2020 with my Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood and Special Education. I currently work at Center Avenue Community School within the Butler Area School District as an Emotional Support Teacher. Center Avenue Community School is a program that supports students who demonstrate difficult behaviors. Through our School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS), we are able to encourage and reinforce positive behaviors by creating school-wide expectations.

 

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

Throughout my time at Slippery Rock I was provided many opportunities to grow in my professional career, but there is one experience that comes to mind when I think of what has made me the educator I am today. During Pro-Sem, my field experience took place at St. Stephen's. This field experience is what made me realize this is truly the career for me. It helped me discover my passion for working with students who display difficult behaviors and guided me to the job I have now. It reassured me that working in an Emotional Support setting is where my heart is!

 

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

Dr. Monique Alexander was my supervisor throughout my student teaching experience at SRU. As we all know, 2020 was a year full of unknowns. I was student teaching in March 2020 when the world shut down; we all began to panic. Dr. Alexander was my support system during a time where no one knew what the next steps were going to be in order for us to succeed. Dr. Alexander modeled what it's like to be flexible, adaptable, and understanding throughout this process. She inspired me to be flexible and challenge myself - because things can change in an instant.

 

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

My mother was a paraprofessional for 10 years in an Autistic Support classroom. In 8th grade, I thought it would be fun to go to Bring Your Child to Work Day with her (mainly to get out of school for a day), but I never expected that day to change the course of my life. I left school with her that day and said, "that was the best day ever!", and she looked at me like I was a little bit crazy. Ever since that day, I knew my passion was teaching Special Education and I was going to do everything in my power to be the best educator I could be.

 

5. What do you love most about teaching?

What I love most about teaching is building meaningful relationships with my students. Too often we find ourselves going with the motions and not taking time out of our day to just chat with our kids. Just as us adults want to be treated with kindness and respect, our students want that too. When we take a step back, and take the time to invest in our students, their performance in academics will naturally increase. We often forget that these kids are humans, and they need to feel loved, safe, and cared for in order to be successful.

 

6. What makes a great teacher?

Empathy - the ability to understand and share the feelings of another - that is what makes a great teacher. If we as teachers cannot empathize with our students, we will never have the tools we need to help them reach their fullest potential. When a student comes to school visibly upset, we need to know that it's okay to put academics aside to focus on their emotional well being. We need to understand that their behaviors have meaning. Put yourself in their shoes - ask yourself - are they hungry? are they tired? do they feel safe and loved? We can't expect our students to succeed when we haven't met their basic needs. Let our students know they are seen, they are heard, they are supported, and they are loved for who they are.