The Teacher I Will Interview

I decided to interview a friend of mine who just started her second year of teaching. She works for a Middle School in Westchester County, teaching 6th and 7th grade math. I asked her a series of questions about her whole experience on becoming a teacher. I was relieved to hear what her first few days were like being a new teacher, because that could be nerve racking for any new teacher. She explained to me that she was shocked on her first few days, and overwhelmed with the respect she immediately received from her students. They greet her in the hallway, and thank her as they leave class. I could just imagine how good that would feel to get that reaction from your students. When I asked her why she decided to teach the grade that she is in, she explained to me that she chose to do middle school because it is a crucial time for development in an adolescents life, and also a challenging time.

When asked about how this impacts her instruction and instructional time, she said greatly. She alters most everything for each student and group that they are working and developing at his or her level and pace. She mentions that it can be difficult to meet all of the student’s needs with just her in the classroom and only 15 minutes a day with the support staff for their grade. However, she has seen great improvement with students as the year went on.

Students at Amherst County High who say teachers lack personality have yet to meet Dr. McFaden. Dr. McFaden is the supervisor for equity assurance and online learning at Amherst County High. Dr. McFaden has a doctorate in Concentration and in MultiCultural Education. She earned her Master's degree from Lynchburg College, two bachelor's degrees from CVCC and her doctorate from UVA. Out of all the colleges she attended, which total twenty four years, Dr. McFaden only paid for one. She said her secret was earning the best grades possible and applying for many scholarships. In fact, Dr. McFaden said that throughout her time at college she only earned one B, and the rest of her grades were A’s.

The teacher I interviewed for this project was a fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Keith Wolkovitz. This teacher has been teaching at East Rock Community Magnet School for his entire career of eleven years. East Rock Community Magnet School is a Title I school in the New Haven School District. The school has a very diverse population and over 90% of the students qualify for the free-reduced lunch program. As a Title I school, the school is also mandated by the state to implement certain remedial interventions to improve students’ academic scores.

“When groups are planned so that each member's strengths have authentic importance to the ultimate success of the group's activity, this creates a situation where individual learning styles, skills, and talents are valued, and students shine in their fortes and learn from each other in the areas where they are not as expert.”(Willis)

A typical day in Julie Smith MC 201 class starts of with her playing music. Once her class starts it’s nothing but and excitement. She is a very loud and energetic person. She is not afraid to get all in your face as she is walking around the class teaching you for the topic of the day. She also has a lot of games she uses to keep people engaged in the topics to she is talking about. “ I love coming to Julie class because you never know what to expect from her. One day you might get class where you’re using your phone and the next day she’s handing out candy. I love coming to her class not knowing what to expect.” Said Ciara Bazile. Julie just didn’t wake up one day and say hey I’m going to be teacher like most people as she likes to put it, “ just happened by accident.” One of her old professors called her one night and asked her if she was still teaching at Webster and asked her if she wanted to teach an intro class, she immediately jumped at it. Her favorite part about teaching is “having students contact me after the semester to tell me about examples they 've seen - which shows that what we 've talked about in 201 has stayed with them. I love getting to know them and know their stories. College students are much smarter than people give them credit for.” Julie has been teaching since 1998 so she has no shame when it comes to teaching is not afraid to make a fool of her self when it comes to teaching. “I remember Julie teaching us about television and radio. She

I interviewed a childcare teacher engaged in the Early Childhood Development. She graduated from East Tennessee State University. She has been intrigued by children her entire life, she has volunteered with children with disabilities and worked with children since age 16. You can say that teaching has been a dream job of hers. Going through the interview I went through a series of questions as follows. What are positive and negative parts about being a teacher? What disciplinary styles work the best? And how can teaching in America be improved?

For the purpose of this assignment, the leader I have chosen Ms. J, the principal of a charter school in New Orleans charter school named Harriet Tubman Charter School. Ms. J was also a founder of a school network that oversees 3 elementary to 8th grade schools. Founded in 2011 the schools now serve over 1700 students in the New Orleans area. Tubman Charter school has a staff of eighty. Ms. Lauses role is to oversee eight staff members that ensure that the school produces leading results for the state as well as promising scholars that will path their way to college. As the principal of this school specifically, Ms. J has large obstacles that go beyond the walls of the school. Harriet Tubman Charter school is within a neighborhood that struggles both economically and educationally. Almost 100% of the scholars qualify for a free lunch and are black or Latino and the kindergartens scholars that arrive on the first day know only one or two letters of the alphabet. Historically before Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans on 38% of public school students graduated high school (quote). While most people see this as a place where most people see extreme challenges, Ms. J see’s it as an opportunity for change and promise.

I decided to contact a teacher, Nancy Niedermayer at a local elementary school. I reached out to her through email. I introduced myself and explained that I was a graduate student at Liberty University. I also explained the assignment to her and asked if she would be willing to meet me for an interview and the subject matter. She promptly returned my email and agreed. The interview was then set for Friday, September 9, 2016 at 2:30pm. Our meeting place was her classroom at Lakeside Elementary.

I interviewed a teacher from Seckman High School named Lori Bunting. I asked Lori several questions and she gave me more insight on the teaching career. Lori graduated from Southeast Missouri State in in 2000 with her Bachelors in Secondary Education and Mathematics. She then received her masters in classroom teaching in 2008 from Missouri Baptist University. With student teaching in my near future I thought asking her about her student teacher experience would give me some advice on what my next steps are. Lori student taught at two different schools and for eight weeks each. The first place she student taught was at Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Missouri. Lori stated that the school was very small and only had one math teacher. She said this gave her an insight of what it would feel like to teach in a small school. On the other hand, she also taught at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She said she really enjoyed this experience because the school was much bigger and she felt more involved in the school. She said that unlike today, she had no choice of where she student taught but she was grateful for the experience she had at both Oak Ridge High School and Cape Central High School.

I consider Mrs. S to be coordinated. She has her materials well labeled and organized throughout her classroom. Her desk area also appears organized. Mrs. S shared with me that she begins her school day one hour before the students arrived. This schedule allows her to plan for the day ahead. Mrs. S‘s classroom is large but functional. She has a total of 30 students in her class. The seating arrangement consists of 6 sets of grouping desks as Mrs. S has 6 groups of 5 students to an area. This set up offers several benefits including encouraging collective learning,

The teacher prepares the students to operate in a small group together. This practice can enhance the student’s cooperative learning skills.

Ms. Gerson is coming to us from Woodland School, where she started the year as Long Term Sub in a 2nd grade classroom. Prior to that, she was a 1st grade teacher at the Jewish Community Day School in Watertown, MA. Having had the opportunity to

I had a great opportunity of interviewing a former teacher I had, and a teacher I was familiar with, but was never in her class. Shirley Norris is a middle school Quest teacher. “QUEST” is an acronym for Quality Utilization and Enrichment of Student Talents. The “QUEST Program is designed to meet the needs of identified gifted students who have demonstrated above-average ability in the following two areas of giftedness as defined by the Texas State Plan for the Gifted: 1) high general-intellectual ability at the 95th percentile; and, 2) creative and productive thinking.” (Leander Isd). Mrs. Norris is in charge of 6-8 graders. Shawna Queen is a high school math teacher. She in charge of the math department for her school. Mrs. Queen teaches

The teacher I interviewed has taught for more than ten years at the same school. She started as a fourth grade teacher but she now works as an interventionist.