Reina Montante's Interview with a Social Studies Teacher

Mrs. Jones (pseudonym) has been a high school teacher for almost eighteen years. She has worked both at public and private high schools. She has always taught 9th through 12th graders. Mrs. Jones has primarily been a social science teacher. She has been teaching World Cultures for seven years and used to teach Freshman Geography. Mrs. Jones has been activities director at two of the three schools she has worked at. During this time she also taught the leadership class and was in charge of ASB. Mrs. Jones has worked at three high schools with very different settings and demographics. The first high school she worked at was well maintained and had a mixture of very wealthy White students and middle to poor Mexican-American students. There seemed to be a clear divide between the students at breaks and school events. She did not always have access to the resources and supplies needed. At times, it was challenging for her to stay motivated and enthusiastic. She stayed at this school for two years.

Next, Mrs. Jones took a teaching position at an all girls private school. Mrs. Jones loved the environment at this school. The campus was closer to her home and well maintained. She had a lot of support and all the resources that she needed. The students worked very hard and were dedicated to their school work. She said that "the girls weren't embarrassed to share and be smart. They weren't distracted by boys" and the many other distractions that go along with being at a co-ed school. The students were very productive and well behaved. The parents were very involved in their kids' education because they were paying for it. Mrs. Jones also liked starting each class with a prayer, "it set a tone," she said. Mrs. Jones enjoyed her time at this school but left after seven years.

Last, she was offered a position at her alma mater, so she took it. This school is a standard public high school that educates students from ninth through twelfth grade. The high school is a public school within a relatively small school district, especially in comparison to the school districts surrounding it. This school is in its first year of program improvement. The enrollment is approximately 1300 students, which is a moderate enrollment compared to other high schools in the county. This school is located in the heart of a mid-sized agricultural town. The local community is prized for their vegetable production. The immediate area that surrounds the school is artichoke and strawberry fields that encompass the school on all sides. As a result of the agricultural focus of the area, there are many students whose families work in agriculture. Typically the students range from poor to middle class. This high school is nearly seventy percent Hispanic students, so Hispanic students are the majority on campus. Many of the Hispanic students speak English and Spanish and are classified as English language learners. Over fifty percent of the students on campus are on the free or reduced lunch program.

Currently, Mrs. Jones teaches World Cultures and Freshman AVID (a program designed to help underachieving middle and high school students prepare for and succeed in colleges and universities). Although her current school can be very challenging she really enjoys teaching history because it is her passion. She enjoys teaching AVID class because it gives her an opportunity to help "freshmen get acclimated to high school" and start them on the path to college early. She is very active and involved on campus. She is the co-director of the Alumni Association and currently working on a project to finance the replacement of the school's track and field. Mrs. Jones feels that the facilities at her school are in poor condition and need a lot of work.

Her professional philosophy is based on respect. She believes that "If you treat students with respect, that respect is usually returned." She does not believe in embarrassing her students. She believes the purpose of a public education is "to create intelligent young people who can contribute to society in a positive way." She feels that school is practice for real life, and it is important for students to learn skills like being on time, meeting deadlines, and coming prepared to work. Although Mrs. Jones enjoys working at her current high school, she struggles with having many students who are apathetic and do not want to be there.

She tries to create a comfortable learning environment for her students. This can be seen by the way her classroom is set-up and organized. She has the desks set-up in a unique way so that the focus of the classroom is the center, rather than the front. They are in a small u shape within a larger u shape of desks. She has created a wall all about her behind her desk. She has different awards that she has won, pictures of her family, and souvenirs from when she was in high school. She also has a part of the wall in front of her desk for pictures of her students from school or dances that have been given to her over the years. Along another wall she has examples of student work like posters and different projects, which she adds to all the time. Overall the classroom is a very comfortable and friendly place.

Mrs. Jones' classes are embedded in procedure. Mrs. Jones' opens her door when the passing bell rings and welcomes the students that our waiting to come in. Many elements of her class occur on a daily basis and have started to become routine for the students. Her classes always start out with a bell assignment. Every day the agenda is written on the board in the same place. The agenda starts with the bell assignment, the lecture or lesson with its topic, and assigned homework if any. She likes to make each day different when she can. She uses many different strategies to help her students learn. She uses think-pair-share, strategic grouping, exit tickets, and creative methods of lecture. In addition, she has an effective method of positive reinforcement where she gives out raffle tickets that can be used by her students to "purchase" candy and other rewards. Mrs. Jones has many diverse learners in her classes. To support these learners she does a lot of scaffolding, group work, outlines, study guides and visuals. She uses various types of assessment including presentations, projects, posters and written work. She starts at the beginning of the year by helping the students learn to work effectively in pairs and groups.

Mrs. Jones is very well organized and a highly effective teacher. She is liked and well respected by all of the faculty and staff. She has a very positive relationship with her students and is a favorite teacher on campus. She always seems to be very enthusiastic and motivated. She says that she is satisfied with her career and stays enthusiastic about teaching by developing positive relationships. She enjoys collaborating with her colleagues, working with student teachers, and developing long lasting relationships with her students. She also values her downtime and vacations with her family. She says, "Finding a work-life balance is very important. Don't let your job be all you have." According to Mrs. Jones the most rewarding parts of teaching are "the moments you get through to your students. You see a student be successful who came into class thinking they hate history and have never been successful in a history class. They begin to work harder, show interest, ask questions, smile, interact with you. Those positive rewarding experiences make your day."

I am grateful to Mrs. Jones for taking the time to answer my questions. It was great to talk with Mrs. Jones and hear all of the events that have helped make her the teacher she is today. One of the reasons that I chose to interview Mrs. Jones is because of her classroom management styles. She has so many positive attributes and skills as a teacher that I hope to develop. I never thought teaching was going to be easy, but I never realized how challenging it could be. Especially in this economy and as a new teacher there are many obstacles to success. I wanted to get more insight into how she stays so motivated and creative. It is nice to know that her first few years of teaching were a constant struggle. Ultimately, her hard work and persistence has helped her develop a strong and fulfilling career. I have had a few of those rewarding moments myself, and they are essential to staying enthusiastic about teaching.