Nicole Aymong's Interview with a middle school teacher

This middle school is designated a PI (Program Improvement) school. The majority of students are Hispanic and come from many different countries in Latin America, with students from a variety of other backgrounds. Many of the students are designated English learners.

Mrs. Pine has taught a variety of subjects and has achieved many accomplishments over her years of teaching. For eight years she was designated an Art Docent and taught art to kids from kindergarten to fifth grade. In addition, she taught the students Art History. Mrs. Pine received her Multiple Subject Credential at a California State University. She needs one more test in order to obtain her bilingual authorization. After receiving the Multiple Subject Credential, Mrs. Pine wanted to obtain a Single Subject Credential as well and decided to pursue English and Social Studies. While, obtaining her second credential Mrs. Pine began teaching at Sequoia Middle School. In addition, Mrs. Pine is authorized to teach Art up to ninth grade. She is one half of the department chair for English at the middle school as well.

Education is a have and have not situation according to Mrs. Pine. Growing up was tough for Mrs. Pine. Her parents scraped by in order to save enough money so their children could receive a private school education. She believes it is her responsibility to reach every student, especially the ones who have been left behind by the school system. Mrs. Pine is involved with after school tutoring and works very hard to keep the parents involved in their children's education. The students should have equal access to the curriculum. Mrs. Pine uses the pedagogy of multiple modalities for teaching and scaffolding. Also, the lessons are designed to help all different learners kinesthetic, auditory and visual.

The classroom is organized with eight tables in the middle put into two rows of four. The tables sit four students and the students change tables every few weeks, so they can work with a variety of people. Mrs. Pine uses a smart board to display the daily warm-up for the students everyday. The students perform group work so they can learn how to work with all types of people. Also, the students work in pairs to answer questions or complete worksheets. Mrs. Pine uses modalities for teaching English language development. In addition, the pacing guides are manipulated, so Mrs. Pine can perform more creative and different lessons. Students can use the computer to work on research projects once all their work is done. This gives incentive to the other students to complete work, so they can use the computers as well. Of course, if the students didn't understand the concept or need more instruction in a certain area Mrs. Pine will scaffold the lesson.

The students keep Mrs. Pine enthusiastic about teaching and challenge her everyday. The students' successes and progresses throughout the year is why Mrs. Pine chose to teach. She would like the students to pass the class and move on to the next grade. Also, Mrs. Pine wants every student to receive a good grade in her class and every other class. Mrs. Pine chose to teach the students who are struggling to make it through school and need a teacher that cares about their success. The most rewarding part of teaching is when you see a students face light up when they understood the material and received a good grade on their test.

After talking with Mrs. Pine I learned it takes a lot of hard work and determination to become a teacher. The students are the most important part of teaching and even if it takes a lot of hard work and many lessons getting through to the student is what teaching is all about. Mrs. Pine has gotten many credentials and she always puts the students needs first, so no one falls behind. I learned you need to work hard and always adapt and change to lessons to fit the needs of the students. In addition, as a teacher it takes time and practice to get to know and understand the needs of each one of your students, so be patient and take time to understand the students difficulties in each area then create lesson plans to fit the needs of each student.