AP psychology and honors world history teacher Jennifer Bauer always knew she wanted to become a teacher. She was always good with kids but she is an only child so she would take care of her friend’s little siblings. With 20 years of experience, she made that dream come true.
Bauer knew she wanted to be a teacher at a young age but when she was in middle school her mom went back to college for teaching which was a big inspiration for her. Bauer grew up in Potomac and went to Churchill while her mom taught there.
Bauer then attended Denison University and then the University of Maryland for grad school, she majored in education and history earning a master’s in education and social studies. “You have to take a lot of psych in that [program],” Bauer said.
Bauer started out teaching elementary school. But then in college, she did an internship with a high school United States history class with juniors. “I fell in love with the high school kids,” Bauer said.
Her mom asked her to sub here when she was attending the University of Maryland and her mom’s best friend worked at Churchill so she also subbed there. But ultimately decided to work at this school because she liked the students better. “I really like the teachers here,” Bauer said.
Bauer subbed at other schools including this school before she got a full-time job here. She decided she wanted to teach psychology as well as history when one of her friends who was a psychology teacher asked Bauer to start teaching psychology with her. Bauer used to teach psych all day. “She was a huge influence,” Bauer said.
The first week she started teaching here she founded the barbeque club. A student came to her with the idea to tailgate before games to get the school spirit up. “I thought it was a great idea,” Bauer said.
Bauer has also taught sociology and child development before she decided to stick with just AP psychology and honors world history. She also met Kraig Bauer (her husband) during her first year here. “[I have] been in the same classroom for 20 years now,” Bauer said.
When Baur is not teaching she enjoys doing PTA and Girl Scouts with her 13-year-old daughter Katie Bauer. She is also in a knitting group and likes photography. Bauer is known for being a great teacher as well as a nice and caring person. Junior Ebba Liese who has Bauer for honors world history said, “She is a really great person and I love having her as my teacher.”
Other students also enjoy Bauer and her teaching style. Junior Yana Kohli said, “I feel like she is different from other [teachers] because she is someone who is very understanding” This is her 21st year teaching here and she is still passionate about it. She is also still sponsoring the now popular barbeque club. Bauer is and will continue to be a beloved teacher among students.
