Education

• Bachelor’s degree in social science education from the University of Georgia
• Master’s degree in instructional technology from Georgia Southern
• Specialist’s degree in teacher leadership from Thomas University

Hobbies

• Sewing 
• Karaoke 

Starr’s Mill welcomes Laurie Bennett as a new collaborative math teacher. Born in California, she moved to Georgia when about five years old. 

“I moved here to Georgia when I was five, so I don’t remember much,” Bennett said. “I still feel like a Georgia girl.”

She has been teaching for about ten years now. Bennett’s favorite subject to teach is math, although her favorite to learn is history. 

“I like teaching math. That’s what I teach right now. I like teaching it because there’s a process and you just teach that process, although students hate learning math,” Bennett said. “[History] is more interesting to learn because you can talk about how it was and how different is. Can you imagine growing up before the age of the internet? It’s kind of cool to see how things have changed in people’s lives and how different kids grew up a long time ago.”

She loves bonding with the kids and getting to know their learning techniques. Her plan is to teach here until she retires.

 “I’ve been teaching for about ten years on and off. I kept stopping to have babies,” Bennett said. “Now I’m done with that, so I can teach for a few more years until I retire or until I get tired of it.”

She came to Starr’s Mill after teaching at McIntosh for four years. 

“It’s not a huge difference, but there are a few differences here and there, and I’m still a new teacher here,” Bennett said. “I’m just trying to find my way around, not get lost, learn everybody’s name, and make it through that first year.”

Bennett has four kids between the ages of nine and 21. She loves spending time and bonding with her kids.   

“My husband actually passed away a couple of years ago, and we had three children together,” Bennett said. “If I could spend the day with four people, it would be him and our three kids. We could have a day together, maybe talk about some memories.”

Her approach to teaching is to learn about the students first before she puts her foot down. She likes to learn about what type of student she is teaching and how she can be effective. 

“I try not to be too overbearing at first. I try to stay back and learn how the students learn, what they like, what they don’t like. Once I can learn what their personalities are, then I can approach them,” Bennett said. “They used to say, ‘Don’t smile until Christmas,’ but I just can’t do that.”