Jennifer Bruce: Child development teacher

Jennifer Bruce is new this year to Wilsonville High School. She has been teaching for 23 years and has taught everything from preschool-high school. 

She believes that building a relationship with the kids she teaches is one of the most important things she can do. Bruce states that “It always comes back to kids, no matter how small or how big, and just the relationships that are developed and just watching kids grow and learn.” 

Although Bruce appreciated having the time to learn more about technology, teaching through COVID and being online was not her ideal. She loves it when her kids can learn hands-on and in person because it is easier to tune into their learning styles to help them succeed. 

One thing she lives by is that making mistakes is the key to growth. “Establishing growth mindsets with kids and making them believe that they can try hard things and that its okay to make mistakes” Ms. Bruce explains. 

 Right now, Ms. Bruce teaches preschool at Boeckman in the mornings, and starting during the second semester she will be teaching child development here at the high school. Now that COVID is over, and things are heading back to normal, Bruce is excited to dive deeper into splitting her time between both elementary and high school levels. 

She’s excited to help students figure out what career they would like to study because there are so many different jobs that include children. Bruce notes that taking this class in high school gives students the background knowledge they need for their careers.