Nurturing Voices

English teacher Taylor Turner brings creative writing to life at Eagle Hill.

English teacher Taylor Turner has quickly become a vibrant presence at Eagle Hill School, blending her life as a working writer with a deep commitment to helping students discover their own voices. After earning her B.S. in Film & Television and an MFA in creative writing from Boston University, Turner initially worked remotely in marketing while her husband began teaching English at Eagle Hill. Watching his connection with students and recognizing that her own job did not align with her love of writing or desire to help others led her to pursue a teaching role on campus.

Before joining the English department full time, Turner built an early connection to Eagle Hill by spending scattered weekends working in Prescott Hall and supporting the weekend office. Being immersed in the residential life of the school—sharing meals, attending games, and spending long stretches in Prescott—gave her a window into students’ “home environment” on campus and confirmed that she wanted to be part of the community in a more meaningful way. When a teaching position opened, she left her marketing job, eager to be “there for the kids” and to invest in work that benefitted others rather than herself alone.

The shift from working at home to Eagle Hill has been a welcome change. Turner describes coming from a remote job where she felt starved for human connection, to a campus where there is “always something happening,” from early meetings to a classroom full of students well before the bell. Living in the faculty village also has strengthened that sense of belonging; she appreciates the convenience of being nearby for morning commitments, having the support of neighbors, and maintaining the rare balance of living on campus while still feeling genuinely at home.

In her classroom, Turner aims to create a “safe, calming, and welcoming” space where students feel comfortable sharing their ideas and taking creative risks.

In her classroom, Turner aims to create a “safe, calming, and welcoming” space where students feel comfortable sharing their ideas and taking creative risks. Soft green tones, natural elements, and quiet background music help establish an environment for the big conversations that grow out of the study of literature. Her classes are largely discussion-based, with an emphasis on mutual respect and thoughtful participation. Turner’s core teaching philosophy, “discomfort is necessary,” guides her work. She still believes in comfort, warmth, and listening but with the intent of accepting that learning discomfort is necessary. She pushes students to move beyond surface-level reactions, to avoid vague language like “interesting,” and learn to justify their thinking with specificity and care.

Turner’s own writing life plays a central role in her teaching. A published short story writer currently at work on her third and fourth novels, she often writes about troubled young women, complex mother-daughter relationships, and female characters who are allowed to be both soft and sharp. She journals daily with students in her writing classes, inviting them to use writing as a tool for self-discovery, confidence building, and making sense of the stories they tell themselves. In courses like Digital Writing and Writing Monsters, she has designed projects that blend imagination with formal skills—from opinion pieces on emerging technologies to monster species rooted in literary theory—showing students that rigorous writing can grow from playful, creative beginnings.

Teaching in an era of artificial intelligence, Turner is especially focused on nurturing original thought.

Teaching in an era of artificial intelligence, Turner is especially focused on nurturing original thought. She encourages students to resist the temptation of quick, AI-generated responses and instead to sit with the discomfort of drafting, revising, and thinking beyond their first impressions. For her, the most rewarding moments at Eagle Hill come when students who once doubted their creativity cross an invisible line—sharing a strange, bold, or deeply personal idea and following it through with confidence. Those moments, she says, capture what she loves most about teaching at Eagle Hill: watching students discover that their stories matter, and that writing can be a powerful, lifelong tool for understanding themselves and engaging with the world.