Aimee Gruber

“That’s one thing that I can tell you has not changed from being an elementary level teacher, a middle school teacher, a high school teacher, and even now a college professor, is you have to keep learning.”

School of Education

Special Education, EdD 2018

Assistant Professor at Murray State University

A cherished social identity of mine is my beloved teaching career. Becoming a teacher was a dream come true. I started my teaching career 27 years ago as an elementary, special education teacher in New York State. This image symbolizes the early years of my teaching career. The 100 days of school celebration allows students and teachers to reflect about what has been achieved and what you still hope to learn. This image reinforces to me the importance of creating a positive environment for students to learn relevant and useful curriculum. The student’s excitement to reaching the milestone of 100 days reminds me of the importance of my role to making a difference to successfully prepare students for the future, and to continue to put forth the effort to be an effective teacher. A key takeaway for this image is to continue to strive to make a meaningful, academic contribution to the learning process for the students and make attending school a positive experience for all.

My teaching career journey has transitioned to teaching college, student-teacher candidates. This image is one of my students who excelled in the teacher preparation program and was honored at graduation by the university as being an exceptional student-teacher candidate. During this student’s journey, I was her academic adviser, one of her course instructors, and her supervisor for student teaching. Formal course evaluations and student thank you notes explained that both my implemented curriculum, and the meaningful feedback supported the growth to increase the skill set for these students. Today, I observe this former student successfully teaching students each time I visit her school, and it reinforces to me how my actions can impact others to handle the challenges of the teaching profession. This image is a constant reminder to me that I need to do my part by effectively preparing these students to be successful teachers. These students are relying on me to support and prepare them for their teaching career journey.