Interview With A Teacher With Lori Bunting

What does it mean to be a school teacher? Before mindlessly declaring my major in teaching, I have decided to ask a teacher them self about their experience. My mentor, Gina Biles, has taught sixth grade students at Clear Lake Intermediate School for more than fifteen years. The opportunity to mentor a college student sounded exciting to Ms. Biles, who has always loved motivating, inspiring, and educating the youth. Throughout the interview, her goal has been to portray the life of an educator and to stress the impact education has had on her life.

As preparation for meeting the married teacher couple I was to interview, I started reading Approaches to Teaching (Thinking About Education) by Gary Fenstermacher and Jonas Soltis. It was early in the semester, only a few weeks in, and the overload of theory boggled my mind from the start. I set the book aside and approached the interview with a mindset to get a good outline of who these people are and how they teach. In the setting of their home, in the company of their young child and our mutual friend, I found two caring individuals with similar thoughts on their teaching experiences. Mandy* has been teaching at a large public high school for the last three years. Her degree is in engineering and she loves teaching her seniors

Ashlyn Edwards is an elementary school grades teacher and is licensed to teach grade levels K-6. She currently resides in Texas and has taken some time off from teaching to be with her family. Before taking the time off, Ashlyn worked in two different schools, one of which was in Georgia and the other in Kansas. In Georgia, she taught Kindergarten and in Kansas she taught grade 1. I chose to interview Ashlyn because I had met her several years ago through another friend and I found out she was a teacher at that time. Even though I had not got to know more about Ashlyn before this interview, I was hopeful that she would be able to provide me some insight into what it is like being a teacher and the ups and downs of the job. I asked Ashlyn five questions related to her job and she provided answers that not only guided me but also helped me to understand ways that I can become prepared to teach.

While attending South Elementary School in Marshall, Illinois, I have learned a lot about the daily life of working within a school from interviewing two different teachers. I have never realized how much work goes into being a teacher no matter the grade being taught. I am so glad that I got the opportunity to participate within this program and getting to talk to these teachers. It has made me realize even more that I have chosen the right career path for myself.

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.

Even though I volunteered in different schools, I never had the opportunity to ask about the real feelings of a teacher. During the interview, I learned that there is more than just teaching in becoming a teacher. This is because she told me how one of her hesitation on becoming a teacher is the time one dedicates for the job. She told me that when one is teacher, one must prepare lesson plans, come to school early to prepare for the day, and even stay longer to grade papers. She said that her typical day starts at 7:30 am to prepare materials and school instruction starts from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm. Then, even though the class ends already, she needs to create lesson plans for the entire week. She said that all these things are part of a teacher’s job, but they do not get paid to do these things. Therefore, I learned that being a teacher is not easy because there are a lot of extra responsibilities beyond the job description and that being a teacher extend beyond the classroom. Additionally, her answer made me reflect on whether I want a job, where I have to work more than the “work hours.” However, despite this workload, what amazes me was when she said that if she could go back, she would still choose to be a teacher because of her passion to make a difference in the lives of the

In order for me to meet the requirements of “the maximum for each question is one page,” I must first share how unique my situation is and how beneficial Fundamentals in Methodology and the book “Excellent 11” are to me at this time. I am pursuing teaching as a second career, after spending over a decade in corporate American and over 12 years as a stay home mom, school and church volunteer. I was encouraged to become a certified teacher by a friend who an educator and entrepreneur in her own right. It was my friend, Sheila Newton-Moses, who took me to Saint Peters University, introduced me to Dr. Doria and encouraged me to do this. I am now finishing the second semester in the program and am very excited at the prospect of teaching.

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?

A sit-down interview, in the interviewee’s classroom, on April 22, 2017, results in responses from Rachel, a female Elementary Education teacher at Deerfield Elementary School, in Deerfield, Wisconsin. Containing eight initial questions and two response follow-up inquiries, this interview represents a 4-year Kindergarten grade level perspective, and utilizes eleven years of teaching experience. As a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, Rachel began her career in Milwaukee before accepting her current position of nine years. With extensive knowledge of the field, Rachel qualifies as an excellent resource, both when actively pursuing plans to become an Elementary Education

After hearing Kristina’s background of her road to becoming a teacher, I began to ask her questions about her teaching experience. The first question that I asked Kristina was what influenced her decision to become a teacher? Kristina’s response to this question connected greatly to my own influences. She had known that she wanted to teach from about second grade. Kristina nannied and babysat for multiple kids when she was younger. The experience she had with watching kids had an impact on what she wanted to do in her life. Having the opportunity to relate to children

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.

Ideally, when I graduate, I would like to enter the credential program at Cal Poly Pomona. As an English Education major, I feel like this is the next logical step for me as I seek to move forward on my path of becoming a teacher. The opportunities that await me in the credential program truly excite me because I have always found my studies of English Education to be very rewarding and purposeful. I have found this to be especially true now because I am currently in the process of conducting observation hours at local high schools in Pomona as part of my English Education curriculum. When I am in the classroom, I immediately feel a sense of joy, purpose, and productivity. Outside of the classroom, I do have experience teaching as a leader for a club on campus; I am a Woman’s Bible Study Leader for Cal Poly Cru and I have found this experience of teaching college students to be the most exciting, challenging, and rewarding experience I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of. It can become overwhelming as doubts and deadlines tend to sneak in on me from time to time, but I know that being a teacher is worth every ounce of pressure because of the positive impact that a teacher has the ability to make on a student. There is an incredible statistic that states that “On average a teacher affects 3,000 children over the course of their career” (Bickley). This opportunity stirs my heart like nothing else because when I was in high school, I had an incredible teacher named

When I first found out that the interview person was going to be a principal and former teacher, I was intrigued because my father is a middle school teacher. It was interesting to hear the view point of a current principal compared to what I hear from my dad. For example, I hear my dad talk about the state standards and tests that he is judged off of, and Ms. Walls mentioned this during the discussion. I think that being successful at any leadership position, in this case a teacher, a person needs to be passionate and creative. Therefore, it was disheartening to hear about the sanctions that have been placed on schools today that have limited the flexibility of the teachers. Both Ms. Wall and my dad have talked about the stress that

I believe that as a future teacher I should be aware of signs that my students exhibit. For example, in the reading it mentioned how a child who has experienced trauma may try to avoid situations. If they have an assignment, they may get up and sharpen their pencils or go look around the classroom. Knowing that children who experience trauma may exhibit these behaviors, I will not be so quick to get on to the student. It is easy to say that a child is not following directions and call their attention. However, some kids are experiencing difficult situations at home that they are not even sure how to process. Instead of telling them what they should not be doing, I would remind them of what they should be doing and encourage them to complete their task. Using kind words and gestures are necessary in the classroom and especially with the children who do not seem as self-confident. It is upsetting to know that with child trauma their perspective of themselves changes. They are not confident, which enables them to take risk and do challenging tasks. If I see one of my students having difficulty in trying to accomplish a task or try new things I will not automatically think he/she have had a traumatic experience. However, it will be something that I would make sure to do more close observation to verify my point. My biggest desire is for my students to feel like they belong and that I care for them, which is why I will always praise them for a job well done. I still like hearing

1. What was your experience as a student teacher? Did you find yourself getting attached to the children in the classroom? Were you skeptical in the beginning? As a student teacher, what was the most efficient advice you received from the former teacher? What was your biggest dilemma in student teaching?