Teacher Feature: Mrs. Taylor Bennett

Student Author: Amanda A.

Mrs. Taylor Bennett has been one of the Social Studies teachers at Putnam County for two years. She is known for her bright smile, her friendly demeanor, and her naturally positive outlook. While teaching at Putnam, she said there are two things that she very much likes about our school: how friendly her coworkers are and how our school is small enough to get to know all of our students. Whether you need advice or just need someone to talk to, Mrs. Bennett is the perfect person for the job.

When asked what advice she had for students wanting to go into education, she had three small but powerful pieces of advice:

1. find your teacher friends who you can go to if you have problems

2. you actually use what you learn in college

3. build relationships with the kids, this makes you a better teacher

Mrs. Bennett as a child

Mrs. Bennett’s family moved around a lot when she was younger, living in Alaska until she was two. When sitting down with her, I got to know a little bit more about how she ended up in Missouri. At the age of two, they moved to Washington state, after that, they moved from Washington to Missouri. Her and her family stayed and lived in Troy until she was in high school. She said that she wanted to go into education while she was in high school. Her goals were similar to most of ours: to pass math, since math was “not [her] friend”. Her second goal was to get the lead in the school play. The latter she achieved all four years of high school!

Mrs. Bennett and her friends at her high school graduation

Mrs. Bennett went to high school in Herculaneum, Missouri. When asked to describe the town, she said: “It is super tiny and everyone stops for gas and not much else.” It is about 20 minutes away from St. Louis, Missouri. Mrs. Bennett said that the playground in Herculaneum has a volcano because the town is named after a town near Pompeii. 

One very unique thing about Mrs. Bennett is that her family is very large. She is one of nine children and is the oldest girl. Recently, her family expanded after she married David Bennett, whom she met in college when he tried to date her best friend. After all of the chaos of creating a unique wedding and reception, it’s no wonder that a couple can end up exhausted when it is all done. When asked what her favorite part of her wedding was, she replied: “When it was over”.  She then said that she would have rather ran off and got married without anyone knowing, but nobody would let her do so. 

Mrs. Bennett attended college at Hannibal LaGrange University in Hannibal, Missouri, where she got her Education degree. When asked why she had picked LaGrange, she said she went there because it is a Christian college. Also because she was far enough away from home to have some independence, but close enough that she could go home if she ever needed to. Mrs. Bennett teaches History because she thinks that we need to learn a lot about where we come from. When asked why she liked History, she said, “I think old things are really cool and we can learn a lot from them.” Outside of teaching, she enjoys reading, crocheting, and volunteering at her church.

Along with teaching, Mrs. Bennett helps Miss Savannah Ruby with the Junior High play, which she enjoys doing. Thank you, Mrs. Bennett, for all the work you do for Putnam County R-1 students! We appreciate you!