You could say Deb Brovick is a teacher who teaches would-be teachers how to teach. She is an instructor in the Foundations of Teacher Education and Behavior Technician programs, which help prepare pre-service teachers for a career with students.
A native of Lake Geneva, Deb has been around education her entire life as her parents were both teachers for 30 years. She started out working in childcare centers as a teacher and center director after receiving her bachelor’s degree in education from UW-Whitewater.
After moving to the K-12 system, Deb obtained her master’s degree while working as a Family and Consumer Science Teacher in the Beloit School District. It was then that she started teaching as an adjunct at BTC, which she’s been doing for ten years.
Deb’s experience in childcare led her to the Early Childhood Education program at BTC and she immediately loved the adult learners in her classes.
“After my first year of teaching at BTC, I knew that I wanted to eventually teach there full-time and that it would be the place where I would eventually retire from,” she said.
Many who become teachers can point to inspiration from a particular teacher or teachers, but Deb says she loved almost all of her teachers and remembers taking mental notes of strategies that worked or didn’t work in the classroom.
“I really enjoyed the different personalities of each of my teachers and learned about different teaching styles by watching them,” she said.
Deb has seen early education improve significantly over the years as the importance of early childhood experiences and learning was realized. She says the foundation of early learning is much more than just the basic learning of skills. It can set strong grounds for life’s educational journey.
Deb enjoys sharing her personal experiences with her students as she sees herself as a person who learns by hearing others’ experiences. She believes great teachers ignite students’ passions and inspire them to wonder and discover.
“Students naturally want to find the ‘why’ behind everything, and one of the things I love most about teaching is guiding students to discover the answers—and, better yet, inspiring them to keep asking questions,” she said.
Beyond the teaching of the required curriculum, Deb believes it’s important for teachers to build positive connections with their students and that’s something she hopes her students take to their own classrooms.
“I encourage them to have fun with their students and create as many hands-on activities as they can, to keep the students engaged,” she said.
Deb lives in Janesville with her husband, Dean, along with their two cats, Asha and Oreo. In her free time, Deb loves to read, cook, garden and spend time with her family. Her daughter, Delaney, works as a Behavior Technician. It would seem, as the old saying goes, that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.
Teacher Appreciation Day is observed on May 3. It’s part of Teacher Appreciation Week, a week dedicated to honoring the individuals who lend their passion and skills to educating. The National PTA first designated the week to honor teachers in 1984.