Laura Prow cherishes her family time. photo courtesy of Laura Prow
Laura Prow is now going two years strong in the Spartan family and brings many great attributes, making TJ a better school.
Many teachers have done extraordinary things before settling down with the one profession that they love doing for the rest of their lives. Laura Prow, who teaches Spanish at Thomas Jefferson High School, has gone through a lifetime of decision making to find her passion for teaching a new language to high schoolers.
Learning a second language isn’t as easy as it sounds. Time and dedication are needed as well as a whole lot of focus. Everyone has their own learning system, and in Hispanic cultures, children grow up learning the language within their household. While in the Peace Corps from 1997-2000, Prow had to adjust her life from speaking English continuously to learning and applying the Spanish language in Honduras. To be able to understand and fully learn any language, students need to remember that, “The key to acquiring a language is to be completely immersed in it and need to rid themselves of not being able to communicate at the same level as they do in their primary language,” explained Prow. Students usually don’t realize that learning a language is a very inspiring and hard process when they have already adjusted to speaking one language. Prow hopes to help students understand and respect the culture all while learning in a fun environment. The goal is to hopefully help students understand how important it is to learn a second language, even if it’s not Spanish.
Every child’s life is affected by their education. Prow chose to become a teacher so she could make an impact on her students’ lives, just like she had growing up. Prow mentioned, “I have had so many educators that have inspired me and I felt that I wanted to give back in the same way.” When teachers have this much of an impact, students are more likely to be more successful in the future because they had extra support from an adult in their life. Junior Emnet Sima says, “Mrs. Prow is a super positive person who loves to interact with her students and is also a very energetic person especially in the mornings which helps me start my day.” The smallest details of a person can have the biggest impact on anyone and Prow giving students some positive thoughts in the morning can change how they think and act throughout the rest of the day.
Before becoming a high school Spanish teacher, Prow lived peacefully helping manage a farm that had poultry, sheep, and goats. She also was a doula, which is a person who assists and guides pregnant women before and during birth. Since education is very important, Prow chose to attend Hampshire College to get her first bachelor’s degree, then moved onto Northern Arizona University to receive her second undergraduate degree and masters in Bilingual and Multicultural Education. Prow went a step further and even obtained different bachelor’s degrees in science and art.
When teachers aren’t helping students or grading papers, they live their own lives doing their favorite things like spending time with family or doing hobbies. Prow enjoys the outdoors while skiing, hiking, and walking her dogs. She loves taking adventures with her family and traveling is an essential part of staying sane. Family is a very important part of her life and Prow says that her son is her biggest motivator in life. Her son helps her continue to be the best person, mother, and teacher that she can be.
Being able to teach high school students is an honor and should be treated like it, from both the students and teachers. Prow says that Education is the key to success and that is just one of the many great things she’ll be able to contribute to Thomas Jefferson as long as the students are convinced that their education is the key to gaining great things in the future. Prow will help students achieve this mindset and help high schoolers be successful.
