Surrounded by cookie cutter houses with palm tree landscape, the Elementary school's campus does not give the impression of a low-income community. The school itself is a newer school, built eleven years ago in this semi-urban agriculture community. There are 900 students in this pre-k through sixth grade school, with averages above 30 students per classroom. Thirty-five percent of the students are proficient in English and 92% are Hispanic/Latino.
Entering the campus one must walk towards the playground to locate Mr. R's sixth grade classroom in the portables. Often you will enter a dead silent room as the students are independently at work either reading or moving ahead with their math. When Mr. R is taking the lead or facilitating students' interactions, there is a vibrant energy resonating throughout the room. Mr. R's energetic and often-funny approach motivates his students' learning and it is hard to find them out of line or off task. Creating this safe and positive environment was encouraged during the first week of school. He started the school year with a democratic drafting of class rules and procedures. This coupled with students who sit in groups and work together, helped to foster a cohesive classroom community. Every week begins with an overview of the WHAT, WHY, and HOW the class will adhere to the highlighted standards. Further simplifying these standards, the class creates objectives for the week. Mr. R's ability to adhere to the compulsory standards, yet provide class independence, is a skill he has learned through years of diverse practice, as an educator, an artist, and I am sure, as a parent himself.
At UC Davis, Mr. R followed his first passion and received a B.A. in Fine Studio Arts. After a brief career in custom home construction as well as on his family farm, he received a job teaching art for the military's MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) program. For five years, he taught art to the military personnel and their families, at what was then the Fort Ord military base. When the base closed, he received the chance to further his education. He took this opportunity to obtain his teaching credential at Chapman University. It was a constructivist program, where he was able to study under Jane Mead Roberts, the mind behind a small progressive charter school serving a heterogeneous population.
During the first six years of his public school teaching career, Mr. R was lucky to receive a unique experience. He worked in a multi-age, multi-grade program at a local public school. This exceptional program allowed his students to remain with him for two to three years. In addition, the program encouraged themed-based instruction with plenty of diverse projects. In this parent choice program, the students were actively involved in selecting the curriculum.
Overall Mr. R has taught in public schools for 16 years. His resume is lengthy with an assortment of experiences both in and out of the classroom. He has taught everything from kindergarten to sixth grade including intervention and technology, an out of the classroom experience he thoroughly enjoyed. Given this plethora of practice, he surmises his ideal classroom instruction promotes autonomy to empower students. He continuously looks for opportunities to incorporate his constructivist approach into an already stagnant teaching environment. He says you need to identify the standards, but get the students involved, evident in the class goals and objectives posted weekly. In addition, he believes in reviewing daily and using technology in his lessons. He says it is necessary to incorporate digital technology because the students are comfortable with it. He efficiently acknowledges the needs of a diverse cluster of students by grouping them together in order to provide peer support, along with the encouragement of student mentors and small group discussions. He always leads instruction with an "I do…, We do…, You do…" model and will pull additional small groups as needed.
Mr. R has remained motivated and passionate about his profession because he believes in what Thomas Jefferson said all those years ago*. Public Education creates fluent people and informs them of their choices. Proud moments are when old students visit or when he tracks the path they have taken in their lives. In conclusion, this veteran teacher provides this advice for new comers: Jump in! You are going to make mistakes, but the only way to figure it out is to do it. He also recommends moving around grade levels.
I feel very lucky to have the experience of working with Mr. R because he provides such a positive and unique perspective to teaching. Many teachers I have met in my short education career have been frustrated and cynical. I learn every day from talking to Mr. R that he does not check out at the door or ever on his students. He is committed and works very hard not only for his own class but to collaborate with the other sixth grade teachers so that they can pull resources and work together in targeting the needs of students for English Language Development.
Another equally colossal reward of witnessing his class is the simple way he makes clear, in sixth grade language, what needs to be addressed in the standards. It helps me as a learner, to know what we are aiming for and to see you do not have to give up entirely your beliefs and pedagogy. His rich background also creates a harmonious atmosphere and he is able to provide a great connection with the students. He is equitable and transparent in his teaching practice, providing a great role model not only for his students but also for other teachers to follow. He uses humor which the children enjoy, but also enforces a consistent management style.
* "I think by far the most important bill in our whole code is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised, for the preservation of freedom and happiness...Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance; establish and improve the law for educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against these evils [tyranny, oppression, etc.] and that the tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance." August 13, 1786 (Thomas Jefferson to George Wythe)
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
Michael Mutshnick's Interview with a First Grade Teacher
The elementary school site where Ms. L teaches serves a predominantly Latino population and English is the second language for most of these students. The instructional staff consists of twenty fully credentialed teachers. This elementary school has been on program improvement status since 2001 due to low standardized test scores.
When questioning the staff at my school site as to what teacher would be considered exemplary in terms of their contributions to student learning, one instructor (Ms. L) was suggested by nearly all of the instructors that I approached. Ms. L has been working in education for thirty-one years and has held a variety of positions including working as an Academic Coach for English Language Arts, a Special Education and Resource Instructor for 18 years, as well as a first and second grade classroom teacher. Most of Ms. L's experience has been within the this one district, but she began her career as an educator within the Central Valley of California after completing a credential program at a local State University campus. Ms. L identifies herself as White (Not Hispanic) and does not speak Spanish, yet she has primarily worked with a population of students that are English language learners (ELLs) throughout her career. When asked if her lack of Spanish speaking ability hindered her effectiveness as a teacher, she responded that at times, abstract concepts were much more difficult to teach to ELL students, however most of the subject matter in the first and second grades was more concrete and as long as she utilized sheltered instructional strategies, most students were able to understand the subject matter.
When considering her professional philosophy, Ms. L stated that she believes all students have the ability to learn whatever their ability level is, whether this is physically imposed as a result of a learning disability, or where this is defined by scores on standardized tests that have been completed. Ms. L strongly believes that it is the responsibility of each teacher to motivate and engage every student in their class in an effort to create meaningful opportunities for learning. It is the purpose of public education, according to Ms. L, to create a desire within students to pursue life-long learning.
The set-up of Ms. L's classroom reflects this belief. With an emphasis on safety and 'educational flow' as she calls it, she has endeavored to create a learning environment that is accessible and functional. Students are grouped in sets of four and share a desk with one other 'elbow partner.' This set-up allows for multiple opportunities for peer interaction throughout the day's lessons. Additionally, there are two separate 'story areas' where the class can gather together and work as a larger group.
As Ms. L currently teaches a first grade glass, literacy is a major focus of her room. Many children's books are set-up around the room and accessible to all students to use throughout the day. In addition to the children's books throughout the room, each table grouping has a set of leveled-reading books that all students can use during instruction, or 'check-out' and take home to read with their families. The alphabet and a number line are displayed prominently along two walls of the room and an entire corner next to the story area is devoted to phonics and phonemic awareness instruction with large books, pocket charts with letter cards and word sort cards. All classroom materials are kept within locked cabinets and storage bins stacked along the walls.
In considering the standardized instruction required by her elementary school's program improvement status, Ms. L stated that it is increasingly difficult to connect with students individually and tailor instruction to their needs. While she feels that the quality of the scripted curriculum has improved over the years that she has been a teacher, the pacing of such curriculum is prohibits appropriate student intervention. This typically creates a situation where lower performing students are referred to special intervention programs outside of the normal classroom with a district coach in order to address special needs. This contributes to a lack of personal connection within the classroom between the student and the teacher.
Despite the challenges faced by standardized tests and curriculum, Ms. L has managed to stay enthusiastic about primary education and her role as a teacher. This positive attitude is reflected in Ms. L's demeanor and kind manner with which she communicates with all of the students, within her class and out on the playground. Ms. L maintains this enthusiasm by continually taking advantage of district professional development opportunities to not only learn new teaching strategies, but to also share her experience with other teachers. Having co-teachers and student teachers within her classroom, as well as her involvement as a support provider for the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) Induction Program, helps to keep her energy level up, as well as pass on her love of teaching to a younger generation.
In reflecting on my conversation with Ms. L, I find that despite the many challenges teachers are facing currently within the California public school system, the focus must remain entirely on the students within your classroom. Enthusiasm has to be drawn from within yourself, as well as from those that share a love of learning and want to pass this on to a younger generation of students. There will continue to be changes in the way that the state or certain districts mandate what and how our students should be taught, but it is up to each teacher to strive to ensure that the material taught within their classroom is accessible, relevant and meaningful.
When questioning the staff at my school site as to what teacher would be considered exemplary in terms of their contributions to student learning, one instructor (Ms. L) was suggested by nearly all of the instructors that I approached. Ms. L has been working in education for thirty-one years and has held a variety of positions including working as an Academic Coach for English Language Arts, a Special Education and Resource Instructor for 18 years, as well as a first and second grade classroom teacher. Most of Ms. L's experience has been within the this one district, but she began her career as an educator within the Central Valley of California after completing a credential program at a local State University campus. Ms. L identifies herself as White (Not Hispanic) and does not speak Spanish, yet she has primarily worked with a population of students that are English language learners (ELLs) throughout her career. When asked if her lack of Spanish speaking ability hindered her effectiveness as a teacher, she responded that at times, abstract concepts were much more difficult to teach to ELL students, however most of the subject matter in the first and second grades was more concrete and as long as she utilized sheltered instructional strategies, most students were able to understand the subject matter.
When considering her professional philosophy, Ms. L stated that she believes all students have the ability to learn whatever their ability level is, whether this is physically imposed as a result of a learning disability, or where this is defined by scores on standardized tests that have been completed. Ms. L strongly believes that it is the responsibility of each teacher to motivate and engage every student in their class in an effort to create meaningful opportunities for learning. It is the purpose of public education, according to Ms. L, to create a desire within students to pursue life-long learning.
The set-up of Ms. L's classroom reflects this belief. With an emphasis on safety and 'educational flow' as she calls it, she has endeavored to create a learning environment that is accessible and functional. Students are grouped in sets of four and share a desk with one other 'elbow partner.' This set-up allows for multiple opportunities for peer interaction throughout the day's lessons. Additionally, there are two separate 'story areas' where the class can gather together and work as a larger group.
As Ms. L currently teaches a first grade glass, literacy is a major focus of her room. Many children's books are set-up around the room and accessible to all students to use throughout the day. In addition to the children's books throughout the room, each table grouping has a set of leveled-reading books that all students can use during instruction, or 'check-out' and take home to read with their families. The alphabet and a number line are displayed prominently along two walls of the room and an entire corner next to the story area is devoted to phonics and phonemic awareness instruction with large books, pocket charts with letter cards and word sort cards. All classroom materials are kept within locked cabinets and storage bins stacked along the walls.
In considering the standardized instruction required by her elementary school's program improvement status, Ms. L stated that it is increasingly difficult to connect with students individually and tailor instruction to their needs. While she feels that the quality of the scripted curriculum has improved over the years that she has been a teacher, the pacing of such curriculum is prohibits appropriate student intervention. This typically creates a situation where lower performing students are referred to special intervention programs outside of the normal classroom with a district coach in order to address special needs. This contributes to a lack of personal connection within the classroom between the student and the teacher.
Despite the challenges faced by standardized tests and curriculum, Ms. L has managed to stay enthusiastic about primary education and her role as a teacher. This positive attitude is reflected in Ms. L's demeanor and kind manner with which she communicates with all of the students, within her class and out on the playground. Ms. L maintains this enthusiasm by continually taking advantage of district professional development opportunities to not only learn new teaching strategies, but to also share her experience with other teachers. Having co-teachers and student teachers within her classroom, as well as her involvement as a support provider for the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) Induction Program, helps to keep her energy level up, as well as pass on her love of teaching to a younger generation.
In reflecting on my conversation with Ms. L, I find that despite the many challenges teachers are facing currently within the California public school system, the focus must remain entirely on the students within your classroom. Enthusiasm has to be drawn from within yourself, as well as from those that share a love of learning and want to pass this on to a younger generation of students. There will continue to be changes in the way that the state or certain districts mandate what and how our students should be taught, but it is up to each teacher to strive to ensure that the material taught within their classroom is accessible, relevant and meaningful.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Kim Klier's Interview with a KindergartenTeacher
Berkeley Elementary is in a poor area in this California coastal town. About 95% of the students that attend the school are on free lunch. The school is comprised of about 98% Hispanics with a little bit of African American, Asian, and White mixed in. Ms. Cal pointed out that the demographics have changed dramatically over the years. The school used to be mostly African American in the 1970s thru the early 1990s, but there was a great mix of races and it was a "pretty cohesive" demographic. However, as years have passed, many African American, Asian, and White military families have retired and moved away and many Hispanics have migrated up from the south to replace them.
Ms. Cal received her education at the University of California, Berkeley where she received her credential in teaching. She first worked at a special education preschool in here. Many of the children at the preschool had severe behavior problems due to chemical dependency when they were born on drugs. After twelve years, she decided that she needed to do something different and was exhausted from working with high-risk students. Therefore, she decided to go into regular education where she has been teaching for thirteen years. She has taught, and is currently teaching, kindergarten for ten years and she taught first grade for two years, and did a first grade/second grade combination class for a year. Therefore, all together she has been teaching for twenty-five years.
When it comes to pedagogy, she believes that it is important to teach "to the whole child." A teacher should not just teach them about English and Math, but they need to learn how to be a "good citizen." In addition, it is crucial to have parental involvement and for parents to be advocates for their children. Most importantly, though she wants her students to become lifelong learners.
Ms. Cal believes that public education is a wonderful institution only when it "runs the way it should be run." She believes that schools need to be viewed as a business; therefore; they should be funded. She feels strongly that teachers should not have to pay for the lack of vision the administration and government have. Ms. Cal thinks that the importance of public education is not common sense for many people and that they need to understand that it is worth funding and supporting. Many people in Monterey Peninsula are retired and they are not going to be running to the polls to vote legislation through, so it is important to gain their support for public education on Monterey Peninsula.
According to the curriculum at Berkeley Elementary, every classroom needs a reading and math area. Therefore, she has a specific reading area, place to put things away, and to work. She loves to have desks in kindergarten, because it teaches them "responsibility." She sets the desks up according to behavior, academic readiness, and socialization skills. She states that one of the children is not behaving very well right now and that she has isolated him. When paring two students together at a table, she has one student that is high academically or socially next to a student that is low academically or socially. In addition, when making the seating chart she tries to form her students into a boy/girl pattern. She puts the desk in groups around the room and she mentioned that she does not usually put the children in groups so early; however, since this year's students are a bit more mature and ready, she was able too. Last year, she said that she had to put the children in stereotypical rows, because grouping them together would have been a nightmare.
Right now, the school is designated as a "School Improvement" school and she thinks what is great about the curriculum now is that the teacher has to engage every student. She also has to set up her schedule according the pacing guide and according to the leadership group at her school.
Since it is such a regimented schedule, she strives to put her own personality into every lesson. Ms. Cal has to create a background where the students feels safe and where they get into a routine where they know what is "going to come up next." She likes to emphasize a schedule and makes sure that students understand why they are learning what they are learning. She finds it difficult to meet the needs of everyone most of the time. Therefore, she makes sure to practice one-on-one learning with struggling students and she talks with parents to let them know what their child is struggling with and what they can practice at home.
The most rewarding aspect of teaching for Ms. Cal is the relationships she has with her students, parents, and the community. From her own experience, she feels that keeping up with the children as they progress through school is important and she has attended many of her past kindergarteners' high school and college graduations. It helps validate the fact that she has helped contribute to them becoming active learners.
In addition, whenever they learn something and they have that "I got it moment" it inspires her and gives her satisfaction. She is enthusiastic about teaching, because she loves what she does, she loves working with children, and she thinks and knows she is good at it.
From doing this interview, I learned that there needs to be a valiant effort to reform schools so that people in the community support them and are really to help fund them. In addition, I learned that the relationships you have with parents, children, and the community are vital in creating a positive learning environment. Most of all, having a pure love of teaching and of working with children is at the core of being a teacher that is unforgettable and remarkable.
Ms. Cal received her education at the University of California, Berkeley where she received her credential in teaching. She first worked at a special education preschool in here. Many of the children at the preschool had severe behavior problems due to chemical dependency when they were born on drugs. After twelve years, she decided that she needed to do something different and was exhausted from working with high-risk students. Therefore, she decided to go into regular education where she has been teaching for thirteen years. She has taught, and is currently teaching, kindergarten for ten years and she taught first grade for two years, and did a first grade/second grade combination class for a year. Therefore, all together she has been teaching for twenty-five years.
When it comes to pedagogy, she believes that it is important to teach "to the whole child." A teacher should not just teach them about English and Math, but they need to learn how to be a "good citizen." In addition, it is crucial to have parental involvement and for parents to be advocates for their children. Most importantly, though she wants her students to become lifelong learners.
Ms. Cal believes that public education is a wonderful institution only when it "runs the way it should be run." She believes that schools need to be viewed as a business; therefore; they should be funded. She feels strongly that teachers should not have to pay for the lack of vision the administration and government have. Ms. Cal thinks that the importance of public education is not common sense for many people and that they need to understand that it is worth funding and supporting. Many people in Monterey Peninsula are retired and they are not going to be running to the polls to vote legislation through, so it is important to gain their support for public education on Monterey Peninsula.
According to the curriculum at Berkeley Elementary, every classroom needs a reading and math area. Therefore, she has a specific reading area, place to put things away, and to work. She loves to have desks in kindergarten, because it teaches them "responsibility." She sets the desks up according to behavior, academic readiness, and socialization skills. She states that one of the children is not behaving very well right now and that she has isolated him. When paring two students together at a table, she has one student that is high academically or socially next to a student that is low academically or socially. In addition, when making the seating chart she tries to form her students into a boy/girl pattern. She puts the desk in groups around the room and she mentioned that she does not usually put the children in groups so early; however, since this year's students are a bit more mature and ready, she was able too. Last year, she said that she had to put the children in stereotypical rows, because grouping them together would have been a nightmare.
Right now, the school is designated as a "School Improvement" school and she thinks what is great about the curriculum now is that the teacher has to engage every student. She also has to set up her schedule according the pacing guide and according to the leadership group at her school.
Since it is such a regimented schedule, she strives to put her own personality into every lesson. Ms. Cal has to create a background where the students feels safe and where they get into a routine where they know what is "going to come up next." She likes to emphasize a schedule and makes sure that students understand why they are learning what they are learning. She finds it difficult to meet the needs of everyone most of the time. Therefore, she makes sure to practice one-on-one learning with struggling students and she talks with parents to let them know what their child is struggling with and what they can practice at home.
The most rewarding aspect of teaching for Ms. Cal is the relationships she has with her students, parents, and the community. From her own experience, she feels that keeping up with the children as they progress through school is important and she has attended many of her past kindergarteners' high school and college graduations. It helps validate the fact that she has helped contribute to them becoming active learners.
In addition, whenever they learn something and they have that "I got it moment" it inspires her and gives her satisfaction. She is enthusiastic about teaching, because she loves what she does, she loves working with children, and she thinks and knows she is good at it.
From doing this interview, I learned that there needs to be a valiant effort to reform schools so that people in the community support them and are really to help fund them. In addition, I learned that the relationships you have with parents, children, and the community are vital in creating a positive learning environment. Most of all, having a pure love of teaching and of working with children is at the core of being a teacher that is unforgettable and remarkable.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Kelly Mottershead's Interview with a First Grade Teacher
Mrs. M works at a kindergarten through fifth grade elementary school in this coastal California town. It is her second year teaching at this particular school and she told me she is having a lot of fun so far. Mrs. M started her career as a teacher at an all-boys elementary school in the middle of San Francisco. She had an amazing time at this school teaching for seven years in kindergarten all the way through fifth grade. In 1988, she decided to take three years off after her first son was born. During this time, she and her husband moved. In her new city, she became a long-term substitute for half a year. After that she started working at the school where her two sons were attending elementary school. She taught first grade there for seven years and then taught fifth grade for three years after that. Mrs. M then decided to take another break from teaching and worked as an accountant for a small accounting firm. She said she worked in a cubicle and it was a nine to five job that was not very creative. She worked there for three years and decided she missed teaching so she started working in a second grade classroom at her current school. Mrs. M shared her second grade with another teacher Mrs. H. Mrs. M would work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday while Mrs. H would work Thursday and Friday. She said this was really fun but she looked forward to this year when she would have her own classroom again. She now has her own first grade classroom and loves it.
The school Mrs. M works at now is an elementary school with mostly Hispanic students who live below the poverty level. Almost all of her students receive free hot lunches at school. She said that trend is similar for the entire school. Most of her students are English language learners as well.
She believes it is very important to have a good rapport with your students and to make them feel safe in their environment. "As a teacher you need to encourage the students and support them and make sure that they know that you care about them as students and as human beings." She also said it is important that they learn new things and have fun too. She went on to say that every child is unique and different and that she always tries to find something in each child that she can highlight. She felt it was very important to let your students know that they are heard and valued, and that they are important and special.
Mrs. M said the purpose of a public education was so that "every child has the opportunity to be educated. It's a right. It's just a given." She thought that unfortunately, every child was not given the same opportunities. "We as a country need to value public schools and educators." Mrs. M started telling me about the school she worked at in the past and how that school made sure that every child had P.E, Spanish class, computer lab time, music, art, and had a librarian who taught the children how to appreciate books. She said the librarian there had her own curriculum that she had to follow in order to teach the children how the books were organized and how to finds the books they wanted. "These children had all these 'extra' classes and they still learned how to read just fine. I just don't understand why public schools can't do this as well."
Mrs. M told me that in her class she has traditional students' desks that face forward towards the front of the room. She mentioned that the desks were too big for her students and that she really wished she had big tables and chairs in her classroom instead. She also has two nice big spaces in her class for letting her students sit and watch the class bunny hop around.
Mrs. M said she likes to split up her instruction into whole group instruction and small groups. She likes to keep her children actively engaged and talking to their neighbors as much as possible. She also has the students respond chorally sometimes and often uses the "I do, you do, we do" model. Mrs. M tries to continually monitor and assess her students and their progress and understanding. She said she tries to find out what they need to learn and then she develops her lesson around this information.
Mrs. M tries to meet the needs of her diverse students by implementing lots of different activities that are infused with art and music. She tries to keep in mind her English language learners when planning her activities as well. She tries to apply many modalities in her lessons: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. "I am a visual learner so I tend to draw lots of pictures anyway. If the child's language isn't quite there yet, they can always focus on the pictures."
As far as instructional strategies, Mrs. M said most of the time she presents information as a whole and then breaks it down into smaller parts for her students. "You want to take away any anxiety of what's next so the students can feel comfortable, and relax, and focus." At the same though, she explained to me that she will also present her ideas sometimes starting with the parts and work up to the whole because she wants to make sure she accounts for all types of learning styles that some children might be more comfortable with.
Mrs. M stressed to me that teaching is not just about academics. It is important to learn about life. "Children need social modeling. Like how not to interrupt someone in the middle of a sentence, or how to ask questions, or how to respond to questions or to each other." Mrs. M told me about a story when she had her students working in pairs and they had to share something. She told the children, "Remember, you always give your partner the bigger piece." Weeks later, one of the students' parents came into class thanking Mrs. M for teaching her child such nice manners; her child had repeated these words of sharing at home the day before.
When asked about keeping her enthusiasm of teaching, Mrs. M said she loves teaching because "it is a challenge and there is always something I can do better." She likes the idea that it is different every day. "The kids change every year and every class is different. It just makes my job interesting." She admits of sometimes having bad days, but Mrs. M said that it is during these days that it is great to have camaraderie with the other teachers at the school. She told me that it is very important to have a support group. "It's what keeps you in the profession." Mrs. M also really enjoys her "collaboration time" when she shares what she is doing in her classroom—especially if it works. "Teaching has to be collaborative. Everyone has different experiences with different kids. Everyone needs to work together. This includes parents, teachers, resource teachers, even principals."
"The most rewarding part of teaching is to see kids growing, understanding, and learning." Mrs. M enjoys seeing the sparkle in a child's eye when they say "I can do it!" She loves the whole experience of teaching. "It's important to care about what you do and to value your job."
From interviewing Mrs. M, I have learned that it is crucial to think about all the different children in your classroom and to value each and every one of them as a wonderful, special, little person. I also learned that it is important to be dedicated and to believe in your work. Mrs. M also helped me appreciate the fact that it is all right to step back and take a break too.
The school Mrs. M works at now is an elementary school with mostly Hispanic students who live below the poverty level. Almost all of her students receive free hot lunches at school. She said that trend is similar for the entire school. Most of her students are English language learners as well.
She believes it is very important to have a good rapport with your students and to make them feel safe in their environment. "As a teacher you need to encourage the students and support them and make sure that they know that you care about them as students and as human beings." She also said it is important that they learn new things and have fun too. She went on to say that every child is unique and different and that she always tries to find something in each child that she can highlight. She felt it was very important to let your students know that they are heard and valued, and that they are important and special.
Mrs. M said the purpose of a public education was so that "every child has the opportunity to be educated. It's a right. It's just a given." She thought that unfortunately, every child was not given the same opportunities. "We as a country need to value public schools and educators." Mrs. M started telling me about the school she worked at in the past and how that school made sure that every child had P.E, Spanish class, computer lab time, music, art, and had a librarian who taught the children how to appreciate books. She said the librarian there had her own curriculum that she had to follow in order to teach the children how the books were organized and how to finds the books they wanted. "These children had all these 'extra' classes and they still learned how to read just fine. I just don't understand why public schools can't do this as well."
Mrs. M told me that in her class she has traditional students' desks that face forward towards the front of the room. She mentioned that the desks were too big for her students and that she really wished she had big tables and chairs in her classroom instead. She also has two nice big spaces in her class for letting her students sit and watch the class bunny hop around.
Mrs. M said she likes to split up her instruction into whole group instruction and small groups. She likes to keep her children actively engaged and talking to their neighbors as much as possible. She also has the students respond chorally sometimes and often uses the "I do, you do, we do" model. Mrs. M tries to continually monitor and assess her students and their progress and understanding. She said she tries to find out what they need to learn and then she develops her lesson around this information.
Mrs. M tries to meet the needs of her diverse students by implementing lots of different activities that are infused with art and music. She tries to keep in mind her English language learners when planning her activities as well. She tries to apply many modalities in her lessons: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. "I am a visual learner so I tend to draw lots of pictures anyway. If the child's language isn't quite there yet, they can always focus on the pictures."
As far as instructional strategies, Mrs. M said most of the time she presents information as a whole and then breaks it down into smaller parts for her students. "You want to take away any anxiety of what's next so the students can feel comfortable, and relax, and focus." At the same though, she explained to me that she will also present her ideas sometimes starting with the parts and work up to the whole because she wants to make sure she accounts for all types of learning styles that some children might be more comfortable with.
Mrs. M stressed to me that teaching is not just about academics. It is important to learn about life. "Children need social modeling. Like how not to interrupt someone in the middle of a sentence, or how to ask questions, or how to respond to questions or to each other." Mrs. M told me about a story when she had her students working in pairs and they had to share something. She told the children, "Remember, you always give your partner the bigger piece." Weeks later, one of the students' parents came into class thanking Mrs. M for teaching her child such nice manners; her child had repeated these words of sharing at home the day before.
When asked about keeping her enthusiasm of teaching, Mrs. M said she loves teaching because "it is a challenge and there is always something I can do better." She likes the idea that it is different every day. "The kids change every year and every class is different. It just makes my job interesting." She admits of sometimes having bad days, but Mrs. M said that it is during these days that it is great to have camaraderie with the other teachers at the school. She told me that it is very important to have a support group. "It's what keeps you in the profession." Mrs. M also really enjoys her "collaboration time" when she shares what she is doing in her classroom—especially if it works. "Teaching has to be collaborative. Everyone has different experiences with different kids. Everyone needs to work together. This includes parents, teachers, resource teachers, even principals."
"The most rewarding part of teaching is to see kids growing, understanding, and learning." Mrs. M enjoys seeing the sparkle in a child's eye when they say "I can do it!" She loves the whole experience of teaching. "It's important to care about what you do and to value your job."
From interviewing Mrs. M, I have learned that it is crucial to think about all the different children in your classroom and to value each and every one of them as a wonderful, special, little person. I also learned that it is important to be dedicated and to believe in your work. Mrs. M also helped me appreciate the fact that it is all right to step back and take a break too.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Jessica Baker's Interview with a Second Grade Teacher
Ms. D is a second grade teacher at an elementary school in this California coastal town. There are approximately 768 students at the school. The ethnic breakdown is 5% Asians, 12% Black, 29% Latino and 46% White. Forty-two percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
This is Ms. D’s 16th year teaching at the school elementary. When she started jobs were hard to find so for two of those years, she was independent study teacher. She has been a second-grade teacher for 14 years and still enjoys it.
Ms. D wants to make a difference in children's lives. She believes you have to approach each child as an individual with their own unique experience and you need to take each child as far as they can go. She believes “all can learn and that learning should be fun and challenging.” She wants every child to be successful. She is proud when she helps a child a make academic or behavioral progress. She believes that the purpose of public education is that each and every child will learn what they need to know as a citizen. She believes in equal access with extra support for children who need it. Children need the best education we can give them.
She uses teacher directed approach. Her classroom is very structured. She needs this structure to keep her second-graders focused and on task. She models all activities and behavior. You need a calm classroom in order to teach. She sees her self as a role model for her students. She treats everyone with respect and kindness as an example for the children.
She loves bringing children together and building a sense of community. The children are organized in to learning groups of 4 to 6 students depending on class size. She works on team building with the students. She also seats students with behavior or academic concerns with “mentor buddies.” The mentor buddies model good behavior and assist in academics. For example she told me that she had one student who had trouble behaving in class so he is seated with three mentor buddies who model good behavior. In her classroom, choosing a partner to read with is a privilege that she saves for the second part of the year.
She will meet with parents when she has behavior or academic concerns about a child. She will come up with individual plans and goals for these students to work on. She will tell parents how to support their child and give them exercises to practice at home.
On back to school night, she goes over rules, consequences and rewards. She talks about how she runs her classroom in detail. She hands out an example of her reading log and comprehension questions to ask their children when they are finished with a story. She sends home copies of her philosophy, expectations for her students, rules, expectations and consequences.
She assigns seating on the rug to eliminate pushing and shoving. When there is not assigned seating on the rug there are conflicts and it takes longer for the students to sit down. She also assigns the children spots in line so that there is no pushing shoving or conflicts when they line up.
She assigns the students jobs in the classroom such as supply manager, and lunch bucket carriers. She also displays student work for the same reason. When students are a part of decorating the classroom and making it run it is they take ownership of their classroom.
Ms. D told me that something that really inspires her and makes her feel like she truly make the right choice in choosing to be a teacher is when she receives compliments from parents, students or former students. She is touched when a student says that they had the best day ever. She told me “Children will always remember how you made them feel.” She enjoys being visited by former students. She had a former student who is now in high school visit her and tell her how much he enjoyed their 2nd grade field trip. Last week, a parent wrote a wonderful letter thanking her for being kind to her son. This was the first time that her son had been in public school; before second grade he had been home schooled and the mother was nervous about sending him to school. When Ms. D was telling me about the complements she had received she smiled and almost seemed to have tears of happiness and pride. She said that these compliments reaffirm that “what you are doing and who you are makes a difference.”
I really enjoyed talking to Ms. D. I can tell that she is a great teacher. Hearing her stories was inspiring to me. I was glad to see that even after 16 years of teaching she has maintained her idealism that every student can succeed. She truly cares about every student. I will remember her inspirational words and tips for good classroom management when I have my own classroom.
This is Ms. D’s 16th year teaching at the school elementary. When she started jobs were hard to find so for two of those years, she was independent study teacher. She has been a second-grade teacher for 14 years and still enjoys it.
Ms. D wants to make a difference in children's lives. She believes you have to approach each child as an individual with their own unique experience and you need to take each child as far as they can go. She believes “all can learn and that learning should be fun and challenging.” She wants every child to be successful. She is proud when she helps a child a make academic or behavioral progress. She believes that the purpose of public education is that each and every child will learn what they need to know as a citizen. She believes in equal access with extra support for children who need it. Children need the best education we can give them.
She uses teacher directed approach. Her classroom is very structured. She needs this structure to keep her second-graders focused and on task. She models all activities and behavior. You need a calm classroom in order to teach. She sees her self as a role model for her students. She treats everyone with respect and kindness as an example for the children.
She loves bringing children together and building a sense of community. The children are organized in to learning groups of 4 to 6 students depending on class size. She works on team building with the students. She also seats students with behavior or academic concerns with “mentor buddies.” The mentor buddies model good behavior and assist in academics. For example she told me that she had one student who had trouble behaving in class so he is seated with three mentor buddies who model good behavior. In her classroom, choosing a partner to read with is a privilege that she saves for the second part of the year.
She will meet with parents when she has behavior or academic concerns about a child. She will come up with individual plans and goals for these students to work on. She will tell parents how to support their child and give them exercises to practice at home.
On back to school night, she goes over rules, consequences and rewards. She talks about how she runs her classroom in detail. She hands out an example of her reading log and comprehension questions to ask their children when they are finished with a story. She sends home copies of her philosophy, expectations for her students, rules, expectations and consequences.
She assigns seating on the rug to eliminate pushing and shoving. When there is not assigned seating on the rug there are conflicts and it takes longer for the students to sit down. She also assigns the children spots in line so that there is no pushing shoving or conflicts when they line up.
She assigns the students jobs in the classroom such as supply manager, and lunch bucket carriers. She also displays student work for the same reason. When students are a part of decorating the classroom and making it run it is they take ownership of their classroom.
Ms. D told me that something that really inspires her and makes her feel like she truly make the right choice in choosing to be a teacher is when she receives compliments from parents, students or former students. She is touched when a student says that they had the best day ever. She told me “Children will always remember how you made them feel.” She enjoys being visited by former students. She had a former student who is now in high school visit her and tell her how much he enjoyed their 2nd grade field trip. Last week, a parent wrote a wonderful letter thanking her for being kind to her son. This was the first time that her son had been in public school; before second grade he had been home schooled and the mother was nervous about sending him to school. When Ms. D was telling me about the complements she had received she smiled and almost seemed to have tears of happiness and pride. She said that these compliments reaffirm that “what you are doing and who you are makes a difference.”
I really enjoyed talking to Ms. D. I can tell that she is a great teacher. Hearing her stories was inspiring to me. I was glad to see that even after 16 years of teaching she has maintained her idealism that every student can succeed. She truly cares about every student. I will remember her inspirational words and tips for good classroom management when I have my own classroom.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Rod Garcia's Interview with a First Grade Teacher
Mrs. A is over 70 years old. Although she is recently retired, Mrs. A has been teaching for more than 50 years and continues to do so today by volunteering one to two days a week to work within a first grade classroom. The school is in a coastal town of California. At least ninety percent of the student population is considered low income. Of her more than half century worth of teaching experience, she has done all of it within the compulsory educational system. She is a one time teacher of the institution she now volunteers within. In fact, she was once the "master teacher/supervisor" to the first grade teacher she now volunteers for.
In terms of professional philosophy, she is a true advocate for learning and education. Although she is retired, she continues to volunteer as much as she can because "I feel like teaching and preparing students to succeed is a way to fulfill my life mission." Mrs. A is a self proclaimed Christian and has dedicated her life to social work. As for Mrs. A's current interaction within the classroom, every Friday, she arrives punctually to the beginning bell. For the entirety of this school year, Mrs. A has been working on Math concept development. When she arrives, she begins setting up her daily activity on a side table adjacent to the main group area. The activity always includes a set of manipulative based math instruction and is conducted with an alternating small group of 3 or 4 students.
According to Mrs. A, children are often not properly conceptualizing the math. Much in agreement with the main teacher, their current math text does not sufficiently teach math. The homeroom teacher selects the small groups based on his weekly assessments. From what I have observed, the groups are usually ability mixed with students testing in the high, mid, and low ranges. The strategy she uses is usually questioning. She asks questions and observes what they do. From time to time, she even uses an iPad to record her observations. The students love the manipulative math. They all voluntarily work with Mrs. A. The manipulative activities are all sort of designed in ways so the students can succeed. When the students do something satisfactory in response to Mrs. A's questioning, they receive a "spot." A spot is a foam square used to attain a certain prize. Mrs. A always finds a way for the student to earn a spot. In fact, at the end of each individual group session, all of the students win and earn the same prize.
In terms of describing what keeps Mrs. A enthusiastic, she joked, "It gives me something to do." In all seriousness, she has devoted her time to social work and she enjoys being in the classroom. As for my own personal learning, I feel inspired in many ways by people like Mrs. A. She is a 70 plus year old woman with hearing aids and glasses, but still so mentally sharp and well spoken she feels much younger. As for an something explicit she has advised to me about school setting survival, Mrs. A once told me, "If I can tell you one thing about working within any school young man, it is that you've got to learn how to play politics with the people you work with. If you don't, you invite a hell you never knew was coming." I admire her love for teaching and hope I'll still have that kind of passion if I reach her age.
In terms of professional philosophy, she is a true advocate for learning and education. Although she is retired, she continues to volunteer as much as she can because "I feel like teaching and preparing students to succeed is a way to fulfill my life mission." Mrs. A is a self proclaimed Christian and has dedicated her life to social work. As for Mrs. A's current interaction within the classroom, every Friday, she arrives punctually to the beginning bell. For the entirety of this school year, Mrs. A has been working on Math concept development. When she arrives, she begins setting up her daily activity on a side table adjacent to the main group area. The activity always includes a set of manipulative based math instruction and is conducted with an alternating small group of 3 or 4 students.
According to Mrs. A, children are often not properly conceptualizing the math. Much in agreement with the main teacher, their current math text does not sufficiently teach math. The homeroom teacher selects the small groups based on his weekly assessments. From what I have observed, the groups are usually ability mixed with students testing in the high, mid, and low ranges. The strategy she uses is usually questioning. She asks questions and observes what they do. From time to time, she even uses an iPad to record her observations. The students love the manipulative math. They all voluntarily work with Mrs. A. The manipulative activities are all sort of designed in ways so the students can succeed. When the students do something satisfactory in response to Mrs. A's questioning, they receive a "spot." A spot is a foam square used to attain a certain prize. Mrs. A always finds a way for the student to earn a spot. In fact, at the end of each individual group session, all of the students win and earn the same prize.
In terms of describing what keeps Mrs. A enthusiastic, she joked, "It gives me something to do." In all seriousness, she has devoted her time to social work and she enjoys being in the classroom. As for my own personal learning, I feel inspired in many ways by people like Mrs. A. She is a 70 plus year old woman with hearing aids and glasses, but still so mentally sharp and well spoken she feels much younger. As for an something explicit she has advised to me about school setting survival, Mrs. A once told me, "If I can tell you one thing about working within any school young man, it is that you've got to learn how to play politics with the people you work with. If you don't, you invite a hell you never knew was coming." I admire her love for teaching and hope I'll still have that kind of passion if I reach her age.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Lisa Olesen's Interview with a Second Grade Teacher
Susie is a well-known educator at an elementary school in this California valley town. She is currently in her 32nd year as a teacher and has continued to be fully dedicated and passionate about her career. For the past 19 years she has been working a school in this small town, which is a Title One and Basic Aid school with about 50% Hispanic/Latino, 30% White, 13% Native American, and about 7% other ethnicities.
Going into college, Susie had her mind set on becoming a physical therapist; however, that changed once she realized how much she enjoyed working with children in an educational setting. Her first teaching position was in a one-room private school house with ten students, consisting of grades two through eight. In this rural community she was able to gain an appreciation for time spent one-on-one with the students, while understanding the importance of grade level separation. After that she changed to another school and work for two years with seventh and eighth graders in pre-algebra and algebra, then moved to the 5th grade for one year.
Over these first few years as a new teacher, Susie experienced a variety of different grade levels and diverse settings. After about six years of teaching in this rural community, Susie and her husband decided to move and start a family together. For the next seven years, Susie was a stay-at-home mother with two children. She re-entered the teaching career as a GATE teacher and has continued to work at that same school for the past 19 years. After 17 years as the GATE teacher she recently decided to change to second grade. Even though she admitted it “was a very difficult decision to leave my loved position,” she realized that due to the budget cuts there was a chance she might be let go later on and at that moment there was a small window of opportunity to change into a full-time, single grade level position.
Even though Susie has moved around grade levels and subject areas many times, the main component she always includes while teaching is some form of “hands-on learning.” Throughout the interview she continued to stress the point that she believes students learn better if they are engaged with the lesson and given the opportunity to experience learning through hands-on activities. This plays well into the style of instruction Susie uses in her classroom. She strongly believes in pairing and group work activities that get the students talking to one another and working together. She tries to limit the amount of “teacher talk” in each day so that it provides more time for the students to collaborate together, work individually, and work with the teacher in smaller group or individually settings. Susie provides clear, concise instructions and tends to follow the “I do, we do, you do” pattern. In order to gain the students interest in these activities, Susie is “constantly trying to pick high interest topics for that grade level.” For example, she is currently working on a thematic unit focused around spiders. She creates reading lessons, writing projects, and science experiments that incorporate this topic while also staying on task with the standards that need to be met in each subject area.
In order to realize this form of hands-on learning, she sets up her classroom in a way that enables to students to be more independent and learn from personal experience and practice. Around the classroom she has many different areas for the students to learn how to do things without help from the teacher. The reading library, for example, is set up in a numerical way so the students can go over and choose which book to read depending on what Accelerated Reader level they are at. Along with that, there are two computers near the reading area for the students to take their AR test when they have finished their book. She also has all the art supplies (crayons, paints, scissors, etc) set up in the back cupboards and placed on shelves at their level of reach. Susie’s attention to these details might seem like minor elements to the setup of her room, but by taking a step back and asking the students to do more things on their own it provides them with the ability to become more independent and learn through doing.
Susie repeatedly stressed the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people and truly appreciating the successes of teaching. She has always loved working with children and has an innate connection with them and their families. Her relationship with the children is caring, warm, happy, and lively. She makes learning fun for them and you can tell they all adore her. The passion she brings to the classroom clearly spreads to her students and you can see their excitement for learning.
Susie further emphasized the point that teachers need to focus on the successes no matter how big or small they might be. She does not dwell on the things that go wrong; instead she highlights the elements that the students did correctly and alters her lessons accordingly.
The excitement of teaching has definitely not died down in Susie. She is continually finding new lesson ideas, bringing in fun facts to share with her students, incorporating animals she gets from the museum or her backyard, taking the students on a variety of field trips, and so much more. Just by talking with her I can see how strong her passion is for being an educator.
Through this interview I came to realize how similar we are. Her enthusiasms for teaching are aligned with some of my strongest passions for this career. She is also a very creative teacher who takes a standard lesson plan and creates her own twist on it to engage the students more. Many of her teaching qualities are ones that I can start seeing in myself and hope to incorporate into my own style of teaching. It was a very inspiration conversation with Susie and I hope to not only increase my passion and motivation for teaching, but also use my positive and enthusiastic attitude to improve the educational careers of my future students.
Going into college, Susie had her mind set on becoming a physical therapist; however, that changed once she realized how much she enjoyed working with children in an educational setting. Her first teaching position was in a one-room private school house with ten students, consisting of grades two through eight. In this rural community she was able to gain an appreciation for time spent one-on-one with the students, while understanding the importance of grade level separation. After that she changed to another school and work for two years with seventh and eighth graders in pre-algebra and algebra, then moved to the 5th grade for one year.
Over these first few years as a new teacher, Susie experienced a variety of different grade levels and diverse settings. After about six years of teaching in this rural community, Susie and her husband decided to move and start a family together. For the next seven years, Susie was a stay-at-home mother with two children. She re-entered the teaching career as a GATE teacher and has continued to work at that same school for the past 19 years. After 17 years as the GATE teacher she recently decided to change to second grade. Even though she admitted it “was a very difficult decision to leave my loved position,” she realized that due to the budget cuts there was a chance she might be let go later on and at that moment there was a small window of opportunity to change into a full-time, single grade level position.
Even though Susie has moved around grade levels and subject areas many times, the main component she always includes while teaching is some form of “hands-on learning.” Throughout the interview she continued to stress the point that she believes students learn better if they are engaged with the lesson and given the opportunity to experience learning through hands-on activities. This plays well into the style of instruction Susie uses in her classroom. She strongly believes in pairing and group work activities that get the students talking to one another and working together. She tries to limit the amount of “teacher talk” in each day so that it provides more time for the students to collaborate together, work individually, and work with the teacher in smaller group or individually settings. Susie provides clear, concise instructions and tends to follow the “I do, we do, you do” pattern. In order to gain the students interest in these activities, Susie is “constantly trying to pick high interest topics for that grade level.” For example, she is currently working on a thematic unit focused around spiders. She creates reading lessons, writing projects, and science experiments that incorporate this topic while also staying on task with the standards that need to be met in each subject area.
In order to realize this form of hands-on learning, she sets up her classroom in a way that enables to students to be more independent and learn from personal experience and practice. Around the classroom she has many different areas for the students to learn how to do things without help from the teacher. The reading library, for example, is set up in a numerical way so the students can go over and choose which book to read depending on what Accelerated Reader level they are at. Along with that, there are two computers near the reading area for the students to take their AR test when they have finished their book. She also has all the art supplies (crayons, paints, scissors, etc) set up in the back cupboards and placed on shelves at their level of reach. Susie’s attention to these details might seem like minor elements to the setup of her room, but by taking a step back and asking the students to do more things on their own it provides them with the ability to become more independent and learn through doing.
Susie repeatedly stressed the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people and truly appreciating the successes of teaching. She has always loved working with children and has an innate connection with them and their families. Her relationship with the children is caring, warm, happy, and lively. She makes learning fun for them and you can tell they all adore her. The passion she brings to the classroom clearly spreads to her students and you can see their excitement for learning.
Susie further emphasized the point that teachers need to focus on the successes no matter how big or small they might be. She does not dwell on the things that go wrong; instead she highlights the elements that the students did correctly and alters her lessons accordingly.
The excitement of teaching has definitely not died down in Susie. She is continually finding new lesson ideas, bringing in fun facts to share with her students, incorporating animals she gets from the museum or her backyard, taking the students on a variety of field trips, and so much more. Just by talking with her I can see how strong her passion is for being an educator.
Through this interview I came to realize how similar we are. Her enthusiasms for teaching are aligned with some of my strongest passions for this career. She is also a very creative teacher who takes a standard lesson plan and creates her own twist on it to engage the students more. Many of her teaching qualities are ones that I can start seeing in myself and hope to incorporate into my own style of teaching. It was a very inspiration conversation with Susie and I hope to not only increase my passion and motivation for teaching, but also use my positive and enthusiastic attitude to improve the educational careers of my future students.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Frank Verga's Interview with a Fourth-Fifth Grade Teacher
Mrs. M has been a teacher for seventeen years in four different school districts in California. Mrs. M has enjoyed the students in all districts, but feels the students in a small agricultural city, may be the most eager to learn. She has taught all elementary school grades, kindergarten through fifth grade. The last two years have been spent teaching a fourth-fifth grade combination class at DR Elementary School.
Mrs. M received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish Studies from the University of California Riverside. She then went to UC Irvine to complete her teaching credential. Mrs. M did not intend to become a teacher when she was starting college. She was seriously considering becoming a doctor. She took chemistry and biology classes in preparation for this field. However, she did not feel an affinity for these classes, but enjoyed her Spanish classes. She decided to become a Spanish Major with a Minor in psychology. During college, Mrs. M worked at a local school assisting with an after-school program. She enjoyed working with the students and decided to pursue a career in teaching.
Mrs. M is of European (Irish) descent. She is married to a Mexican American man whom she met while working at an elementary school in Salinas. He came to this country when he was seven years old. He is a teacher as well and currently teaches a fourth grade class at another school. Mrs. M has studied Spanish since the seventh grade and she speaks Spanish fluently. She has a 6-year-old daughter who is in the first grade. She is very active and keeps Mrs. M busy at home.
DR Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade. The large majority of students are from Hispanic backgrounds. European, African, Asian and Pacific Island backgrounds are also represented in small numbers. In Mrs. M’s class, there are 28 students. There are sixteen fourth-graders and twelve fifth-graders. Thirteen students are males and fifteen are females. There are five English only students. Sixteen are Fluent English Proficient and seven are Limited English Proficient. There are two students on Individualized Leaning Plans, and none have 504’s nor are any in the Gateway (gifted) program. All the ESL students have Spanish as their first language. Most of the students are Hispanic, of Mexican descent. There are also two students of Vietnamese background, two African Americans, and one child of Thai/Guamanian background.
The classroom is neatly organized. Mrs. M does not like clutter. There are no stacks of paper or other items in the class. Students do have samples of their work neatly posted on the walls. One project, a poster board entitled “All About Me” is displayed along the class walls. Also on the wall is each student’s name with a colorful border that each student created themselves. Mrs. M feels this helps the students to think of the classroom as theirs. There is a bookshelf in one corner with many books. There are books about animals, mystery stories, and children’s stories such as Stuart Little and James and the Giant Peach There are also historical stories about life as a slave in the Southern U.S., life as a Jewish person during World War II, and stories about growing up in Mexico. Most of the books are in English, but there is a small Spanish section.
The students sit in clusters of four or five. On occasion, a student is separated out due to talking issues. Mrs. M rearranges the students every five weeks. This gives them some variety of whom they sit next to and helps control behavioral issues. However, Mrs. M does not have any serious behavior issues in the class. She is strict with the students and they behave very well for the most part. At 9:00 am until noon, the students are grouped by grade level for English Language Development and English Language Arts and the fourth graders leave and more fifth graders from another class join come in
Mrs. M uses primarily a teacher centered instructional strategy. This is in keeping with the standardized instruction of current classroom practice. Mrs. M does not think that standardized instruction is beneficial to the students. It tends to make instruction dry and non-creative. Instruction is often lecture oriented with time for students to work independently. Cooperative group work is limited. Most of the time, students work individually. Mrs. M does have the students use wipe boards for math. They show her their answers to various questions so she knows they are doing them correctly.
For Mrs. M, the most rewarding time as a teacher is when a student who has struggled with a concept for a long time is finally able to understand and appreciate it. This is particularly true of students for whom English is a second language. Mrs. M, as a non-native but fluent Spanish speaker, is able to make connections with the Spanish language for the students periodically. This seems to help them to get some concepts faster, especially vocabulary words.
For Mrs. M, the purpose of public school education is to give students the tools they need to be good citizens, such as strong language and math skills as well as an appreciation for the arts and history. She also hopes to prepare a strong foundation for students to succeed in college if they choose to attend.
In doing this interview, I learned that you need to be flexible when you are a teacher. You may often be asked to teach another grade level or a different combination of students. Also, you need to be able to adapt to different principals’ styles. A good principal can really make the difference between a positive and negative experience teaching. Therefore, when you find a good principal, try to stay with them. This is a tall order in today’s “succeed in a year or you’re out” climate.
Mrs. M received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish Studies from the University of California Riverside. She then went to UC Irvine to complete her teaching credential. Mrs. M did not intend to become a teacher when she was starting college. She was seriously considering becoming a doctor. She took chemistry and biology classes in preparation for this field. However, she did not feel an affinity for these classes, but enjoyed her Spanish classes. She decided to become a Spanish Major with a Minor in psychology. During college, Mrs. M worked at a local school assisting with an after-school program. She enjoyed working with the students and decided to pursue a career in teaching.
Mrs. M is of European (Irish) descent. She is married to a Mexican American man whom she met while working at an elementary school in Salinas. He came to this country when he was seven years old. He is a teacher as well and currently teaches a fourth grade class at another school. Mrs. M has studied Spanish since the seventh grade and she speaks Spanish fluently. She has a 6-year-old daughter who is in the first grade. She is very active and keeps Mrs. M busy at home.
DR Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade. The large majority of students are from Hispanic backgrounds. European, African, Asian and Pacific Island backgrounds are also represented in small numbers. In Mrs. M’s class, there are 28 students. There are sixteen fourth-graders and twelve fifth-graders. Thirteen students are males and fifteen are females. There are five English only students. Sixteen are Fluent English Proficient and seven are Limited English Proficient. There are two students on Individualized Leaning Plans, and none have 504’s nor are any in the Gateway (gifted) program. All the ESL students have Spanish as their first language. Most of the students are Hispanic, of Mexican descent. There are also two students of Vietnamese background, two African Americans, and one child of Thai/Guamanian background.
The classroom is neatly organized. Mrs. M does not like clutter. There are no stacks of paper or other items in the class. Students do have samples of their work neatly posted on the walls. One project, a poster board entitled “All About Me” is displayed along the class walls. Also on the wall is each student’s name with a colorful border that each student created themselves. Mrs. M feels this helps the students to think of the classroom as theirs. There is a bookshelf in one corner with many books. There are books about animals, mystery stories, and children’s stories such as Stuart Little and James and the Giant Peach There are also historical stories about life as a slave in the Southern U.S., life as a Jewish person during World War II, and stories about growing up in Mexico. Most of the books are in English, but there is a small Spanish section.
The students sit in clusters of four or five. On occasion, a student is separated out due to talking issues. Mrs. M rearranges the students every five weeks. This gives them some variety of whom they sit next to and helps control behavioral issues. However, Mrs. M does not have any serious behavior issues in the class. She is strict with the students and they behave very well for the most part. At 9:00 am until noon, the students are grouped by grade level for English Language Development and English Language Arts and the fourth graders leave and more fifth graders from another class join come in
Mrs. M uses primarily a teacher centered instructional strategy. This is in keeping with the standardized instruction of current classroom practice. Mrs. M does not think that standardized instruction is beneficial to the students. It tends to make instruction dry and non-creative. Instruction is often lecture oriented with time for students to work independently. Cooperative group work is limited. Most of the time, students work individually. Mrs. M does have the students use wipe boards for math. They show her their answers to various questions so she knows they are doing them correctly.
For Mrs. M, the most rewarding time as a teacher is when a student who has struggled with a concept for a long time is finally able to understand and appreciate it. This is particularly true of students for whom English is a second language. Mrs. M, as a non-native but fluent Spanish speaker, is able to make connections with the Spanish language for the students periodically. This seems to help them to get some concepts faster, especially vocabulary words.
For Mrs. M, the purpose of public school education is to give students the tools they need to be good citizens, such as strong language and math skills as well as an appreciation for the arts and history. She also hopes to prepare a strong foundation for students to succeed in college if they choose to attend.
In doing this interview, I learned that you need to be flexible when you are a teacher. You may often be asked to teach another grade level or a different combination of students. Also, you need to be able to adapt to different principals’ styles. A good principal can really make the difference between a positive and negative experience teaching. Therefore, when you find a good principal, try to stay with them. This is a tall order in today’s “succeed in a year or you’re out” climate.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Avelina Campos-Marquez's Interview with a Second Grade Teacher
Ms. A. teaches at M Elementary School in this seaside California town. This school has a fairly heterogeneous makeup of Asians 5%, Black/African 12%, Latino/Hispanic 29% and White (non-Hispanic) 46. M Elementary School mainly serves children from all branches of the military, and a few of the locals that are attracted to the Dual Language Immersion Program (DLIP). Ms. A is currently is part of the DLIP Staff at M Elementary School, this would be her third year teaching at this school. M Elementary is one of very few schools that still use the DILP model and is currently using the 50/50 model, 50 % of instruction is conducted in Spanish and the other 50% of instruction is instructed in English.
Ms. A went to school at a California State University, and did not go through the traditional student teacher program. She had her emergency 30-day teaching permit when she started teaching her first year. She was terrified of teaching her first year, but she ended up having a perfect classroom. Her classroom consisted of twenty-one students. Out of the twenty-one, eighteen students were girls. She has been teaching for 14 years now, and had been able to work in a variety of settings and school districts. In those fourteen years, she has only taught second and third grade, describing second grade being the best, because third grade is full of transitions as far as academics for the children. She has had the opportunity to teach in a Structured English Immersion (English only classroom), bilingual classroom, and now currently teaching in a DILP. She has worked in three different districts in California.
"Without a structure, you cannot teach." Ms. A says about a basic philosophy. Ms. A thinks there should be a balance in literacy between word study, phonics, writing, and not isolating them from each other as they all lead to one goal. She has a strong belief that public education needs to provide the best services for all children in order to succeed academically, and there should be high expectations for all students.
Her classroom is set up and based on language. She has chosen the color blue, to represent the bilingualism the children are acquiring. Each bulletin board in her classroom serves an instructional purpose. These bulletins boards are all interactive and all children can reach them. The bulletins boards need to be interactive and well organized for the children to be able to see the flow of information. She uses three main bulletin boards. One has "La Gran Pregunta" (the big question) and this bulletin is solely dedicated to Spanish Language Arts. She has a very well organized bulletin containing everything the children will be learning in the unit. Every week, the vocabulary words change, and the small topics do as well, as well as mentioning the standards that are being covered in the lesson.
Then she has the bulletin that is dedicated to math. On this bulletin board all the objectives of the day are displayed, as well as the standards and all the new vocabulary words we will be learning in each topic within the unit.
The last bulletin board, which she is just starting to put together, is for her small groups. Because of the DLI program, they focus a lot on interaction between students. She has set up her classroom in a way that all the tables are directed towards the center of the room. Then, each group consists of a boy/girl, and is arranged by an English speaker next to an ELL.
Ms. A is great about updating her bulletin board in a daily basis.
As part of her instructional strategies she uses the Multiple Intelligence. She believes that certain strategies will keep them engaged, and not all students learn the same. She does a lot of teacher directed instruction, not so much because of the scripted curriculum, but because the language and the classroom materials are very structured as well. After the giving the first benchmark this up coming week, she will be then shifting into small group activities (many call them centers), in order to have differentiated as well as direct instruction. This differentiation is mainly to be able to aid students in a particular area they need extra help, and at the same time challenge those overachievers in the class.
When I asked her about what keeps her motivated and enthusiastic about teaching her eyes lit up and responded with a huge smile telling me "I love what I do." Ms. A loves to push students to do the best she can. She has high expectations for all of her students regardless of the level they are in. She tries to provide as much support for the students, but she does not enable them to fail.
I learned a lot from the interview and from being on her classroom every day. Ms. A and I have similar backgrounds; we both were raised in Mexico, both were able to attend college here in California and both ending up in the education field. I can see myself as a close image of Ms. A in a way that she approaches the children, the way she looks at the smallest detail.
Ms. A went to school at a California State University, and did not go through the traditional student teacher program. She had her emergency 30-day teaching permit when she started teaching her first year. She was terrified of teaching her first year, but she ended up having a perfect classroom. Her classroom consisted of twenty-one students. Out of the twenty-one, eighteen students were girls. She has been teaching for 14 years now, and had been able to work in a variety of settings and school districts. In those fourteen years, she has only taught second and third grade, describing second grade being the best, because third grade is full of transitions as far as academics for the children. She has had the opportunity to teach in a Structured English Immersion (English only classroom), bilingual classroom, and now currently teaching in a DILP. She has worked in three different districts in California.
"Without a structure, you cannot teach." Ms. A says about a basic philosophy. Ms. A thinks there should be a balance in literacy between word study, phonics, writing, and not isolating them from each other as they all lead to one goal. She has a strong belief that public education needs to provide the best services for all children in order to succeed academically, and there should be high expectations for all students.
Her classroom is set up and based on language. She has chosen the color blue, to represent the bilingualism the children are acquiring. Each bulletin board in her classroom serves an instructional purpose. These bulletins boards are all interactive and all children can reach them. The bulletins boards need to be interactive and well organized for the children to be able to see the flow of information. She uses three main bulletin boards. One has "La Gran Pregunta" (the big question) and this bulletin is solely dedicated to Spanish Language Arts. She has a very well organized bulletin containing everything the children will be learning in the unit. Every week, the vocabulary words change, and the small topics do as well, as well as mentioning the standards that are being covered in the lesson.
Then she has the bulletin that is dedicated to math. On this bulletin board all the objectives of the day are displayed, as well as the standards and all the new vocabulary words we will be learning in each topic within the unit.
The last bulletin board, which she is just starting to put together, is for her small groups. Because of the DLI program, they focus a lot on interaction between students. She has set up her classroom in a way that all the tables are directed towards the center of the room. Then, each group consists of a boy/girl, and is arranged by an English speaker next to an ELL.
Ms. A is great about updating her bulletin board in a daily basis.
As part of her instructional strategies she uses the Multiple Intelligence. She believes that certain strategies will keep them engaged, and not all students learn the same. She does a lot of teacher directed instruction, not so much because of the scripted curriculum, but because the language and the classroom materials are very structured as well. After the giving the first benchmark this up coming week, she will be then shifting into small group activities (many call them centers), in order to have differentiated as well as direct instruction. This differentiation is mainly to be able to aid students in a particular area they need extra help, and at the same time challenge those overachievers in the class.
When I asked her about what keeps her motivated and enthusiastic about teaching her eyes lit up and responded with a huge smile telling me "I love what I do." Ms. A loves to push students to do the best she can. She has high expectations for all of her students regardless of the level they are in. She tries to provide as much support for the students, but she does not enable them to fail.
I learned a lot from the interview and from being on her classroom every day. Ms. A and I have similar backgrounds; we both were raised in Mexico, both were able to attend college here in California and both ending up in the education field. I can see myself as a close image of Ms. A in a way that she approaches the children, the way she looks at the smallest detail.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Veronica Brewington's Interview with a Third Grade Teacher
I was fortunate enough to interview and learn from the experience of Mrs. B. She has been teaching for thirty years in a variety of forums. Mrs. B began her teaching career at a high-income school for fifteen years. She then moved to this area where she taught for ten years, two of which were in a bilingual program. Her final five years up to the present have been taught in in her present school, in grades three and four. Mrs. B also took a break from traditional teaching for an additional four years to do home instruction. The students she aided ranged from first to twelfth grade.
The school she is working in currently is located in a mostly low-income community on the central coast of California. The school has roughly 435 students who are predominantly Latino. Mrs. B is presently teaching third graders. Her class has twenty-three students, fourteen boys and nine girls. There are twenty-one students of Latino descent and two African America students. Twenty of Mrs. B's students are English Language Learners.
We began by discussing Mrs. B's educational philosophy. She expressed a belief that public education was meant to impart quality education to all. "Every child can learn." she believes, and it is our job to reach each and every one of them. In describing her pedagogy, she mentions "equal opportunity." She emphasized the vitality of tailoring the lessons for the students. It is in this way that teachers can ensure all students get reached, regardless of socio-economic status or background. These are virtues that I not only admire, but strive for. Even after thirty years of teaching, most of which have been under standardized based instruction, Mrs. B does not overlook the true value of what educators are doing. Teachers are incapable of doing their jobs if they do not primarily believe each one of their students not only can learn, but have the right to do so. These principles have created the basis for Mrs. B's quality teaching, a model that I hope to mirror.
In setting up her classroom, she has placed the students in tables of about four students to promote group discussions. She ensures that the tables are angled so that the students are able to view her, wherever she may be within the classroom. Mrs. B seats lower scoring students next to higher scoring students, allowing the children the opportunity to learn from each other. The bulletin boards located throughout the room reflect what the students are working on for the particular week. Mrs. B's strategy for designing her classroom is informative. She allows interactive group work by having the students in tables based on skill level. However, to maintain management, she ensures the tables are angled so that the primary attention is on her. The bulletin boards attend to those students who are more visual learners. Mrs. B has struck a challenging balance. She allows the students to be more interactive with each other; however she is always able to maintain control of her class.
One of the more vital points discussed was the necessity to meet the needs of all learners, even in these times of more standardized instruction. Mrs. B angrily admits that the majority of her daily instructions entail teaching to some sort of test. She describes the heavily weighted emphasis on math and language arts, leaving little room for social studies and science. "They're lucky if they get to any form of art or physical education," she explains, "I do not get to decide what I teach anymore." However, she does understand her role for delivering quality education to all types of learners. Whenever possible, Mrs. B makes her instruction more physical and hands-on. She allows the students to use manipulates during math and has them write their answers on their own individual white boards. She uses pictures for vocabulary and has the students get up and act scenarios out for language arts. Mrs. B demonstrates a teacher's ability to be creative and a curriculum that calls for very little creativity.
We concluded the interview by discussing how, during these seemingly frustrating times for teachers, she is able to maintain her optimism. I asked her what keeps her enthusiastic. Mrs. B described the look children possess when they finally get something. "You can literally see the light bulb come on," she describes. Mrs. B enjoys grappling over a concept with a student stating "It makes the end result more rewarding." These are the untainted basics of education that Mrs. B has not lost. She instills knowledge that helps children grow into adulthood and encourages lifelong learning.
This interview taught me about the importance of reaching all varieties of diverse learners, and the ways in which this can be achieved. Mrs. B demonstrates the ways in which she tailors her strict curriculum to accommodate her students. She allows for visual learning and group discussions. The children are often times given the opportunity to get out of their seats. I learned the ways in which I am able to implement my own level of creativity within my classroom. Most importantly, however, this interview reminded me of why I decided to enter the field of education in the first place. When asked what maintains her level of enthusiasm, Mrs. B stated "watching the kids learn." This simple answer instilled exactly what it is I am doing as a teacher. I am fortunate enough to contribute to the growth of children into who they want to become. This is what keeps Mrs. B coming back to school every morning, and what I have to look forward to.
The school she is working in currently is located in a mostly low-income community on the central coast of California. The school has roughly 435 students who are predominantly Latino. Mrs. B is presently teaching third graders. Her class has twenty-three students, fourteen boys and nine girls. There are twenty-one students of Latino descent and two African America students. Twenty of Mrs. B's students are English Language Learners.
We began by discussing Mrs. B's educational philosophy. She expressed a belief that public education was meant to impart quality education to all. "Every child can learn." she believes, and it is our job to reach each and every one of them. In describing her pedagogy, she mentions "equal opportunity." She emphasized the vitality of tailoring the lessons for the students. It is in this way that teachers can ensure all students get reached, regardless of socio-economic status or background. These are virtues that I not only admire, but strive for. Even after thirty years of teaching, most of which have been under standardized based instruction, Mrs. B does not overlook the true value of what educators are doing. Teachers are incapable of doing their jobs if they do not primarily believe each one of their students not only can learn, but have the right to do so. These principles have created the basis for Mrs. B's quality teaching, a model that I hope to mirror.
In setting up her classroom, she has placed the students in tables of about four students to promote group discussions. She ensures that the tables are angled so that the students are able to view her, wherever she may be within the classroom. Mrs. B seats lower scoring students next to higher scoring students, allowing the children the opportunity to learn from each other. The bulletin boards located throughout the room reflect what the students are working on for the particular week. Mrs. B's strategy for designing her classroom is informative. She allows interactive group work by having the students in tables based on skill level. However, to maintain management, she ensures the tables are angled so that the primary attention is on her. The bulletin boards attend to those students who are more visual learners. Mrs. B has struck a challenging balance. She allows the students to be more interactive with each other; however she is always able to maintain control of her class.
One of the more vital points discussed was the necessity to meet the needs of all learners, even in these times of more standardized instruction. Mrs. B angrily admits that the majority of her daily instructions entail teaching to some sort of test. She describes the heavily weighted emphasis on math and language arts, leaving little room for social studies and science. "They're lucky if they get to any form of art or physical education," she explains, "I do not get to decide what I teach anymore." However, she does understand her role for delivering quality education to all types of learners. Whenever possible, Mrs. B makes her instruction more physical and hands-on. She allows the students to use manipulates during math and has them write their answers on their own individual white boards. She uses pictures for vocabulary and has the students get up and act scenarios out for language arts. Mrs. B demonstrates a teacher's ability to be creative and a curriculum that calls for very little creativity.
We concluded the interview by discussing how, during these seemingly frustrating times for teachers, she is able to maintain her optimism. I asked her what keeps her enthusiastic. Mrs. B described the look children possess when they finally get something. "You can literally see the light bulb come on," she describes. Mrs. B enjoys grappling over a concept with a student stating "It makes the end result more rewarding." These are the untainted basics of education that Mrs. B has not lost. She instills knowledge that helps children grow into adulthood and encourages lifelong learning.
This interview taught me about the importance of reaching all varieties of diverse learners, and the ways in which this can be achieved. Mrs. B demonstrates the ways in which she tailors her strict curriculum to accommodate her students. She allows for visual learning and group discussions. The children are often times given the opportunity to get out of their seats. I learned the ways in which I am able to implement my own level of creativity within my classroom. Most importantly, however, this interview reminded me of why I decided to enter the field of education in the first place. When asked what maintains her level of enthusiasm, Mrs. B stated "watching the kids learn." This simple answer instilled exactly what it is I am doing as a teacher. I am fortunate enough to contribute to the growth of children into who they want to become. This is what keeps Mrs. B coming back to school every morning, and what I have to look forward to.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Cristina Cervantes Interview with a Fourth Grade Teacher
This school is a fairly new school compared to other schools in the. The school is located near many shopping centers and restaurants. There are a couple of parks and a library nearby. The school population is 98% Hispanic/Latino.
Kim is a young teacher who is involved in many activities in the school and is very dedicated to her students. This year marks her ninth year being a teacher. She has taught all nine years at the same school. During her years of teaching she has mostly taught third and fourth grade, and has taught first and sixth grade once. Today she is currently teaching fourth grade which is her favorite grade to teach. Her philosophy of teaching is not to teach just the academic subject matter and the standards, but to teach the whole child. She views each student as an individual person and she wants them to become productive members of society. She promotes certain values, such as honesty, responsibility, respectfulness, health, and to try their best. Kim believes there should not be a difference in public education and private education. Furthermore, public schooling should provide high quality education just like in the private sector. She feels that as teachers we should not set limitations on the students, and at times she sees this happening in her school.
Kim has a unique purpose on how she arranged the students in her classroom. The classroom consists of seven table groups where each table has four to five students except for one table which has only two students. The seating arrangement was done based on their academic level, creating heterogeneous groups. At each table she has at least one student that is performing above average, and the rest of the students are a combination of average to below average. The purpose of having students arranged like this is so they can hopefully learn from each other. Also, by having a higher English level speakers in each table they would be able to help the other students that are struggling. These students can model proper spoken English. She emphasized that the elimination of bilingual education in the school this year has impacted the students. Many of them do not feel comfortable speaking English out loud. Giving them the opportunity to have discussions in small groups lets them speak in a less intimidating setting.
Kim organized the class to be as close to the students desks as possible. She likes to be able to be face to face with her students. She does not stand in front lecturing and you hardly see writing on the white board. The classroom is really focused on reading and she has many books available for students and a reading area. Throughout the outer sections of the classroom is where she has her books and the textbooks. In addition, she has each table organize their textbook by subject on the bookshelves. Each day of the week a student from each table is assigned to get the textbooks needed for the lesson. The materials that students use regularly, such as their folders and notebooks, are in baskets at their tables. This makes transition time easier when moving from one subject to another.
In regards to instructional strategies, Kim tries to have students collaborate within their tables as much as possible. When introducing new material she does not rely on just telling the students how to do something. She has students write, listen, and practice individually and with their groups. When it comes to meeting the needs of the diverse learners, she confessed that lately she feels that she has not provided as much as she should have due to the new curriculum which has taken time to become familiar with and develop a routine. However, she usually tries to work with the individual students and their needs without holding up the class. She attempts to teach students at a level that is challenging, but yet at which they are able to complete and learn from it. She gave an example of a student that just came from Mexico knowing no English and she has to make specific lesson plans for his learning needs. Furthermore, since most of her students are English learners meeting their needs as a class is something she incorporates to her teaching on a regular basis.
Kim is a teacher that truly loves her career, and making a difference in the lives of her students. Even though there are many obstacles in being a teacher she would like to be, she is very enthusiastic about her work. In addition, there are many gratifying moments that Kim has experienced. For example, having previous students that are in high school come visit her, and some even go to her classroom to help her during the after school program. Also, watching the improvement that each individual student makes during the school year is a rewarding experience. An accomplishment Kim wanted to share with me is that two years ago her students scored second highest on the standardized tests for her school even though she had mostly lower performing students in her class.
From doing this interview I have learned the variety of obstacles that teachers are confronted with, and the experiences that makes teaching so rewarding. By understanding the tools that one can use when teaching a diverse group was really helpful because that is something that as a future teacher is crucial to understand the individual needs of the student. One of the most important aspects that Kim pointed out is the crucial role that teachers play in the lives of the students. Especially since students spend so much time at school, I believe it is important to teach not just the curriculum, but the whole child.
Kim is a young teacher who is involved in many activities in the school and is very dedicated to her students. This year marks her ninth year being a teacher. She has taught all nine years at the same school. During her years of teaching she has mostly taught third and fourth grade, and has taught first and sixth grade once. Today she is currently teaching fourth grade which is her favorite grade to teach. Her philosophy of teaching is not to teach just the academic subject matter and the standards, but to teach the whole child. She views each student as an individual person and she wants them to become productive members of society. She promotes certain values, such as honesty, responsibility, respectfulness, health, and to try their best. Kim believes there should not be a difference in public education and private education. Furthermore, public schooling should provide high quality education just like in the private sector. She feels that as teachers we should not set limitations on the students, and at times she sees this happening in her school.
Kim has a unique purpose on how she arranged the students in her classroom. The classroom consists of seven table groups where each table has four to five students except for one table which has only two students. The seating arrangement was done based on their academic level, creating heterogeneous groups. At each table she has at least one student that is performing above average, and the rest of the students are a combination of average to below average. The purpose of having students arranged like this is so they can hopefully learn from each other. Also, by having a higher English level speakers in each table they would be able to help the other students that are struggling. These students can model proper spoken English. She emphasized that the elimination of bilingual education in the school this year has impacted the students. Many of them do not feel comfortable speaking English out loud. Giving them the opportunity to have discussions in small groups lets them speak in a less intimidating setting.
Kim organized the class to be as close to the students desks as possible. She likes to be able to be face to face with her students. She does not stand in front lecturing and you hardly see writing on the white board. The classroom is really focused on reading and she has many books available for students and a reading area. Throughout the outer sections of the classroom is where she has her books and the textbooks. In addition, she has each table organize their textbook by subject on the bookshelves. Each day of the week a student from each table is assigned to get the textbooks needed for the lesson. The materials that students use regularly, such as their folders and notebooks, are in baskets at their tables. This makes transition time easier when moving from one subject to another.
In regards to instructional strategies, Kim tries to have students collaborate within their tables as much as possible. When introducing new material she does not rely on just telling the students how to do something. She has students write, listen, and practice individually and with their groups. When it comes to meeting the needs of the diverse learners, she confessed that lately she feels that she has not provided as much as she should have due to the new curriculum which has taken time to become familiar with and develop a routine. However, she usually tries to work with the individual students and their needs without holding up the class. She attempts to teach students at a level that is challenging, but yet at which they are able to complete and learn from it. She gave an example of a student that just came from Mexico knowing no English and she has to make specific lesson plans for his learning needs. Furthermore, since most of her students are English learners meeting their needs as a class is something she incorporates to her teaching on a regular basis.
Kim is a teacher that truly loves her career, and making a difference in the lives of her students. Even though there are many obstacles in being a teacher she would like to be, she is very enthusiastic about her work. In addition, there are many gratifying moments that Kim has experienced. For example, having previous students that are in high school come visit her, and some even go to her classroom to help her during the after school program. Also, watching the improvement that each individual student makes during the school year is a rewarding experience. An accomplishment Kim wanted to share with me is that two years ago her students scored second highest on the standardized tests for her school even though she had mostly lower performing students in her class.
From doing this interview I have learned the variety of obstacles that teachers are confronted with, and the experiences that makes teaching so rewarding. By understanding the tools that one can use when teaching a diverse group was really helpful because that is something that as a future teacher is crucial to understand the individual needs of the student. One of the most important aspects that Kim pointed out is the crucial role that teachers play in the lives of the students. Especially since students spend so much time at school, I believe it is important to teach not just the curriculum, but the whole child.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Berenice Amaya-Gonzalez's Interview with a Bilingual Kindergarten Teacher
The teacher I interviewed has been working at Mariposas Elementary for the last six years. She is currently teaching a staggered bilingual kindergarten. This school serves a population of more than 90% Latino students with only 35% of the students being English proficient and more than 95% of the students speaking Spanish as a first language. Ms. Minakata has been teaching for eleven years and has taught bilingual kindergarten, first, and second grade. Ms. Minakata explained that this school district serves low-income families, most of the families are fieldworkers and there is a lot of mobility due to the migration from field to field.
Her professional philosophy is the assertion and conviction that everyone can learn. Every student has the capacity and potential to learn in her classroom. She describes some students as "late bloomers" who will struggle at the beginning of the school year, but will eventually catch up around November or December. She explained that these particular students may need more support and often times with some encouragement they will keep up with the pace "it's like spoon feeding a child, little by little they will learn to work in a classroom." Her philosophy extends to know "the whole child" which includes her students' backgrounds and understand that sometimes the students have not been exposed to school and she has to build this knowledge from scratch. "You are building the learning foundation because some students have no idea what school is all about." She also takes into consideration the neighborhood her students come from and considers the possibility of her students' being expose to violence, "After all, the school and district is located in the east side of Salinas" which is known as a dangerous area.
Ms. Minakata shared that she has seen some progress with her students; she also noticed that some are struggling and knows that these students' parents are working in the fields since very early in the morning, and often parents do not arrive at home until the work is done late in the evening. The children of these families are worried about their parents and often times they do not know who will take care of them. "Learning becomes a struggle for these students." Through her eleven years of experience working with migrant families and field workers, she has noticed a pattern that involves the active participation of these parents during the spring break or when the harvest is done. The parents' presence at home makes a big difference to their children's learning and they also have time to volunteer in the classroom "even if they don't know how to read or write I find ways to integrate their presence and their help in my classroom."
She uses some form of direct instruction as her pedagogy. She also incorporates small groups or centers where children produce independent work or learn from more experienced peers. She also does one-to-one instruction or support to scaffold the students who are struggling. She uses many open- and close-ended questions "at the beginning you have to model them how to answer because even when you ask an open ended questions they tend to use a word to answer." She uses games played in the playground before lunchtime to include movement, and she uses songs with repetitive words to help with memorization, especially during English language development time.
She believes that the purpose of public education is to provide equal education to everyone. As a public entity, certain standards have to been created, written to include all the students. However, unfortunately, equal opportunities are not provided for all students to meet these uniform standards. Standards are written to measure certain skills and competencies acquired during a particular time frame, and some students who do not meet these requirements should be retained. She understands that there are some students' for whom detention can be negative and she studies each student closely and independently before she makes a suggestion about retaining a student.
Ms. Minakata's classroom has been built following a kindergarten design. The classroom has an extra storage space and three bathrooms: two for students and one for staff. This set up is very convenient and less disruptive during instruction. The classroom is decorated with students' creations and some academic displays, such as the alphabet in English and Spanish, the vowels, the months of the year, the days of the week, the colors, and high frequency words. The classroom has four centers, which are tables for students to work on their assignments. There is a big rug where direct instruction takes place as well as the alphabet practice and a place for students to participate in self-exploratory learning when they finished their assignments. Each center has a geometric shape hanged from the ceiling and this is the way students are grouped. There are two extra tables that are used for assessments and independent one-on-one support. Ms. Minakata has a desk, but she uses it as a storage place and seldom sits behind it.
She is always assessing her students' performance directly and indirectly. When she notices certain progress, she moves the students to another center where the students will be challenged through teacher directed games at the beginning and eventually when students learn the process and skill how to work with the material she integrates a new game with other materials. Every six weeks she officially assesses certain skills to evaluate the curriculum and think of other methods to reach to the students who have not performed as well as the others or "to regroup the students, again." She works with her students interacting with them and even at home, she is constantly thinking ways to motivate their desire to learn "I have high expectations for all my students. If I see a child who will benefit from the after school program because I suspect there is not enough support at home, I will talk to the parents." She explains that often the students are under the care of babysitters who do not help the students with homework. When she notices this setting, she interferes for her student to receive the support from the school.
Her enthusiasm about working with young learners is seeing their progress and "when parents share a skill learned at school and give me credit for it is what keeps me looking forward to the next day, to the next year." She accepts feeling overwhelmed sometimes, especially this year with the new curriculum because she did not receive the training until a few weeks after school started. She is learning the information and trying to catch up with the expectations thinking about what is best for her students and trying to meet the requirements the district imposes. She said "I sometimes can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, but then something happens, I may see an older student of mine and I would think about the years he is being at this school and I get excited again."
She also told me that when other teachers share the accomplishments of some of her previous students, she finds this action very touching and rewarding "especially if the student was quite challenging." Hearing that this student is making progress is very rewarding for Ms. Minakata.
She shared that it makes her feel valuated when parents request her as a teacher because someone else has recommended her, or just from previous experience. For example, she shared that right now she has the younger siblings of three families who have been with her for several years. One of her students is the fourth child of a family who has requested her explicitly at the beginning of the school year. This seems to be a privilege and praise for her hard work as a teacher.
Ms. Minakata recommended that I obtain my BCLAD credential and shared with me that it makes a difference. "Anyone can teach in English, but a few can teach English and content at the same time." Teaching kindergarten is very hard and requires a lot of work and dedication. Students have no idea what to expect and parents often times don't want to let go of their children, especially if these are the first children of the family or the last ones. "You have to teach parents and children how the school works, what to expect from you, in what ways they can help you and their children." The vowels foundation, syllables, sounds, numbers, colors, shapes "takes a lot of repetition and you need to find ways to make the instruction repetitive, yet fun and new." She also recommended that I get informed about the school district emergency procedures. For example, not many districts deal with "lock down" safety interruptions during instruction, but due to the location of the school, there are times when students have to experience the scary process to be kept inside the classroom. Their routines are changed and instruction has to continue.
She ended the interview by adding that working with young students give you the skills to work and manage older classrooms because students grow, skills and procedures have been acquired. "It's not the same to have one or a few students who may need help, then building the foundation of each student from zero." Ms. Minakata is a well organized teacher who is also a mother of three children. She has her own family and her children also go to school where she is actively involved in the parents' association. She also mentors other teachers who are currently doing their beginning teacher training and I had the opportunity to see her work in close relationship with these new teachers. "I want to give back to the community the help I received when I was in the process to become a teacher." Ms. Minakata is a good role model to have in the classroom and I am very privilege to know her and learn from her.
Her professional philosophy is the assertion and conviction that everyone can learn. Every student has the capacity and potential to learn in her classroom. She describes some students as "late bloomers" who will struggle at the beginning of the school year, but will eventually catch up around November or December. She explained that these particular students may need more support and often times with some encouragement they will keep up with the pace "it's like spoon feeding a child, little by little they will learn to work in a classroom." Her philosophy extends to know "the whole child" which includes her students' backgrounds and understand that sometimes the students have not been exposed to school and she has to build this knowledge from scratch. "You are building the learning foundation because some students have no idea what school is all about." She also takes into consideration the neighborhood her students come from and considers the possibility of her students' being expose to violence, "After all, the school and district is located in the east side of Salinas" which is known as a dangerous area.
Ms. Minakata shared that she has seen some progress with her students; she also noticed that some are struggling and knows that these students' parents are working in the fields since very early in the morning, and often parents do not arrive at home until the work is done late in the evening. The children of these families are worried about their parents and often times they do not know who will take care of them. "Learning becomes a struggle for these students." Through her eleven years of experience working with migrant families and field workers, she has noticed a pattern that involves the active participation of these parents during the spring break or when the harvest is done. The parents' presence at home makes a big difference to their children's learning and they also have time to volunteer in the classroom "even if they don't know how to read or write I find ways to integrate their presence and their help in my classroom."
She uses some form of direct instruction as her pedagogy. She also incorporates small groups or centers where children produce independent work or learn from more experienced peers. She also does one-to-one instruction or support to scaffold the students who are struggling. She uses many open- and close-ended questions "at the beginning you have to model them how to answer because even when you ask an open ended questions they tend to use a word to answer." She uses games played in the playground before lunchtime to include movement, and she uses songs with repetitive words to help with memorization, especially during English language development time.
She believes that the purpose of public education is to provide equal education to everyone. As a public entity, certain standards have to been created, written to include all the students. However, unfortunately, equal opportunities are not provided for all students to meet these uniform standards. Standards are written to measure certain skills and competencies acquired during a particular time frame, and some students who do not meet these requirements should be retained. She understands that there are some students' for whom detention can be negative and she studies each student closely and independently before she makes a suggestion about retaining a student.
Ms. Minakata's classroom has been built following a kindergarten design. The classroom has an extra storage space and three bathrooms: two for students and one for staff. This set up is very convenient and less disruptive during instruction. The classroom is decorated with students' creations and some academic displays, such as the alphabet in English and Spanish, the vowels, the months of the year, the days of the week, the colors, and high frequency words. The classroom has four centers, which are tables for students to work on their assignments. There is a big rug where direct instruction takes place as well as the alphabet practice and a place for students to participate in self-exploratory learning when they finished their assignments. Each center has a geometric shape hanged from the ceiling and this is the way students are grouped. There are two extra tables that are used for assessments and independent one-on-one support. Ms. Minakata has a desk, but she uses it as a storage place and seldom sits behind it.
She is always assessing her students' performance directly and indirectly. When she notices certain progress, she moves the students to another center where the students will be challenged through teacher directed games at the beginning and eventually when students learn the process and skill how to work with the material she integrates a new game with other materials. Every six weeks she officially assesses certain skills to evaluate the curriculum and think of other methods to reach to the students who have not performed as well as the others or "to regroup the students, again." She works with her students interacting with them and even at home, she is constantly thinking ways to motivate their desire to learn "I have high expectations for all my students. If I see a child who will benefit from the after school program because I suspect there is not enough support at home, I will talk to the parents." She explains that often the students are under the care of babysitters who do not help the students with homework. When she notices this setting, she interferes for her student to receive the support from the school.
Her enthusiasm about working with young learners is seeing their progress and "when parents share a skill learned at school and give me credit for it is what keeps me looking forward to the next day, to the next year." She accepts feeling overwhelmed sometimes, especially this year with the new curriculum because she did not receive the training until a few weeks after school started. She is learning the information and trying to catch up with the expectations thinking about what is best for her students and trying to meet the requirements the district imposes. She said "I sometimes can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, but then something happens, I may see an older student of mine and I would think about the years he is being at this school and I get excited again."
She also told me that when other teachers share the accomplishments of some of her previous students, she finds this action very touching and rewarding "especially if the student was quite challenging." Hearing that this student is making progress is very rewarding for Ms. Minakata.
She shared that it makes her feel valuated when parents request her as a teacher because someone else has recommended her, or just from previous experience. For example, she shared that right now she has the younger siblings of three families who have been with her for several years. One of her students is the fourth child of a family who has requested her explicitly at the beginning of the school year. This seems to be a privilege and praise for her hard work as a teacher.
Ms. Minakata recommended that I obtain my BCLAD credential and shared with me that it makes a difference. "Anyone can teach in English, but a few can teach English and content at the same time." Teaching kindergarten is very hard and requires a lot of work and dedication. Students have no idea what to expect and parents often times don't want to let go of their children, especially if these are the first children of the family or the last ones. "You have to teach parents and children how the school works, what to expect from you, in what ways they can help you and their children." The vowels foundation, syllables, sounds, numbers, colors, shapes "takes a lot of repetition and you need to find ways to make the instruction repetitive, yet fun and new." She also recommended that I get informed about the school district emergency procedures. For example, not many districts deal with "lock down" safety interruptions during instruction, but due to the location of the school, there are times when students have to experience the scary process to be kept inside the classroom. Their routines are changed and instruction has to continue.
She ended the interview by adding that working with young students give you the skills to work and manage older classrooms because students grow, skills and procedures have been acquired. "It's not the same to have one or a few students who may need help, then building the foundation of each student from zero." Ms. Minakata is a well organized teacher who is also a mother of three children. She has her own family and her children also go to school where she is actively involved in the parents' association. She also mentors other teachers who are currently doing their beginning teacher training and I had the opportunity to see her work in close relationship with these new teachers. "I want to give back to the community the help I received when I was in the process to become a teacher." Ms. Minakata is a good role model to have in the classroom and I am very privilege to know her and learn from her.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Christina Sierra's Interview with a Science Teacher
This interview was done with a teacher who has twenty plus years of teaching experience and is considered an exemplary teacher. This narrative will focus on explaining what I learned about the school setting, teacher's professional experience, philosophy, instructional strategies and how this teacher maintains enthusiasm for teaching.
The public high school is located in a quaint rural area two miles out of the nearby town. The short drive to the school gently winds past a field with cows grazing and fields being prepped for new crops. The school has a small vegetable garden in its courtyard. I arrive at the high school as the students do at 8:30am. It is a small high school school serving approximately 420 students. The teacher states that "the school is roughly divided 50/50 between White and Latino students. Give or take. There are a high number of special needs children served as well…. The school is sought out by parents." Parents get inter-district transfers from as far as thirty five miles away to have their children attend this high school. The teacher believes it is because they have many highly qualified teachers that enjoy teaching and an effective school wide instructional and advisory system.
The teacher shared that all of her teaching experience has been in high school science. She has been at the current teaching site for about sixteen years. There have been times when she taught a research or health when it was needed. This is only her second school setting. Her first teaching setting was a very large high school serving over three thousand students. It seemed that she had a small shudder at recalling this and followed up with commenting that "in this school site, students don't get lost… This is a small public school. It has a charter like feel."
The small school has been like a home to her. It has been a good place to grow and develop her teaching skills. She was inspired by her mother who was an elementary school teacher. "My mother inspires me. She was a teacher. I learned from my mother how to put on a puppet show, have the kids write the puppet show, make the puppets, do an art project about it. Everything was woven all together. I just try to do the same with science." She remarked on her early years after completing student teaching and said she started volunteering in a kindergarten class with a teacher who implemented many hands-on activities; "I really became good when I started volunteering in the kindergarten class. I started saying to myself 'I can do this for science!' It taught me the most." Since those early days she has developed a personal philosophy and belief on the purpose of public schooling. "The purpose of school is to help students to use their minds well… My personal philosophy is to have a lot of fun."
The classroom setting reflects that she cares about children using their minds. The white board at the front of the class has the teacher's name, an agenda, a 'starter activity,' and a vocabulary list related to cell structure. Below the white board and at eye level throughout the classroom are several posters made by students on cell structure. The teacher has a desk in the front corner of the room, but has a chair pulled to the front and center of the classroom away from the desk. The classroom is bright with a wall of windows on one side, allowing in natural light. The window sill is lined with several healthy green leafy plants. The counter by the window is lined with neat stacks of books and trays of papers, with labels like homework, handouts, with a period number. Three rows of seven tables that each seat two students are clean and clear. The class feels organized, open and accessible.
Typical classroom instruction for the 90 minute class periods involves several teaching strategies and activities. Classes begin with a 'starter activity' that students are able to do on their own. During this time the teacher sees to administrative tasks like taking roll. Then she does a small segment of direct instruction. The largest portion of the class period is hands-on activities in groups or on their own. She does not believe that class time is spent well taking notes or reading. She said "they can do that on their own when I'm not with them. I limit my talking. Teachers and students should be doing the same thing, learning. I believe when they are doing something they are learning."
This teacher had a great deal to share on how she meets the needs of diverse learners. "A girl who is totally blind, kids that are ELL's, and others with special ed. titles or learning difficulties; I teach every child with the same scaffolding and strategies. I make it accessible and use accessible vocabulary for everybody." She expanded explaining how she strives to provide multiple ways for students to learn the information, by writing it out in more than one way, drawing a picture or diagram, and creating an experience for them to learn it, like going to the garden or to the library. Her goal in addressing the needs of diverse learners is to "create and make lots of opportunities to get the information into their mind." The teacher does not allow adult special education aides into her classroom. With strong resolve she said "No adult aides, because I believe children can help each other. If a child needs a scribe, other children can scribe for him. Children need to feel good about learning and helping one another." I believe this builds a sense of community in her classroom that strengthens the learning experiences and confidence of the students.
The teacher shared her ideas on maintaining enthusiasm for teaching. First she advised that it is important to recognize that every group is a new group of kids. While the teacher may have taught the subject a thousand times before, it is new to them. She says you have to "Keep remembering it's not old hat. It's really, really exciting! How very, very cool it is to look at cell under a microscope for the first time." She says she holds onto "the magic of science and the parts that are unbelievable. I have held onto them like I'm still a child. Not losing the wonder myself." She says this with excitement and convinces me not only is this true for this teacher but as real truth in staying enthusiastic about teaching. Her last advice from her own experience is to be affected by the students' learning, by what is new and unpredictable.
This interview taught me that many of the teaching strategies I use in pre-school teaching are transferable skills to teaching any age. Hands-on activities and multiple ways of teaching a concept are just as important at three years old as they are at sixteen. I also took in a great deal about the school setting that confirmed to me that not only are small schools best to learn in they are best to teach in. Just as students get lost in big schools, I believe it is possible that teachers do too. I believe that a great deal of this teacher's success and continued enthusiasm for teaching comes form her small, family like school setting. Teaching is as much of a passion as it is a vocation. Teachers want to make a difference in the lives of students. I believe that small schools give teacher's the forum they need to make a difference and be successful.
The public high school is located in a quaint rural area two miles out of the nearby town. The short drive to the school gently winds past a field with cows grazing and fields being prepped for new crops. The school has a small vegetable garden in its courtyard. I arrive at the high school as the students do at 8:30am. It is a small high school school serving approximately 420 students. The teacher states that "the school is roughly divided 50/50 between White and Latino students. Give or take. There are a high number of special needs children served as well…. The school is sought out by parents." Parents get inter-district transfers from as far as thirty five miles away to have their children attend this high school. The teacher believes it is because they have many highly qualified teachers that enjoy teaching and an effective school wide instructional and advisory system.
The teacher shared that all of her teaching experience has been in high school science. She has been at the current teaching site for about sixteen years. There have been times when she taught a research or health when it was needed. This is only her second school setting. Her first teaching setting was a very large high school serving over three thousand students. It seemed that she had a small shudder at recalling this and followed up with commenting that "in this school site, students don't get lost… This is a small public school. It has a charter like feel."
The small school has been like a home to her. It has been a good place to grow and develop her teaching skills. She was inspired by her mother who was an elementary school teacher. "My mother inspires me. She was a teacher. I learned from my mother how to put on a puppet show, have the kids write the puppet show, make the puppets, do an art project about it. Everything was woven all together. I just try to do the same with science." She remarked on her early years after completing student teaching and said she started volunteering in a kindergarten class with a teacher who implemented many hands-on activities; "I really became good when I started volunteering in the kindergarten class. I started saying to myself 'I can do this for science!' It taught me the most." Since those early days she has developed a personal philosophy and belief on the purpose of public schooling. "The purpose of school is to help students to use their minds well… My personal philosophy is to have a lot of fun."
The classroom setting reflects that she cares about children using their minds. The white board at the front of the class has the teacher's name, an agenda, a 'starter activity,' and a vocabulary list related to cell structure. Below the white board and at eye level throughout the classroom are several posters made by students on cell structure. The teacher has a desk in the front corner of the room, but has a chair pulled to the front and center of the classroom away from the desk. The classroom is bright with a wall of windows on one side, allowing in natural light. The window sill is lined with several healthy green leafy plants. The counter by the window is lined with neat stacks of books and trays of papers, with labels like homework, handouts, with a period number. Three rows of seven tables that each seat two students are clean and clear. The class feels organized, open and accessible.
Typical classroom instruction for the 90 minute class periods involves several teaching strategies and activities. Classes begin with a 'starter activity' that students are able to do on their own. During this time the teacher sees to administrative tasks like taking roll. Then she does a small segment of direct instruction. The largest portion of the class period is hands-on activities in groups or on their own. She does not believe that class time is spent well taking notes or reading. She said "they can do that on their own when I'm not with them. I limit my talking. Teachers and students should be doing the same thing, learning. I believe when they are doing something they are learning."
This teacher had a great deal to share on how she meets the needs of diverse learners. "A girl who is totally blind, kids that are ELL's, and others with special ed. titles or learning difficulties; I teach every child with the same scaffolding and strategies. I make it accessible and use accessible vocabulary for everybody." She expanded explaining how she strives to provide multiple ways for students to learn the information, by writing it out in more than one way, drawing a picture or diagram, and creating an experience for them to learn it, like going to the garden or to the library. Her goal in addressing the needs of diverse learners is to "create and make lots of opportunities to get the information into their mind." The teacher does not allow adult special education aides into her classroom. With strong resolve she said "No adult aides, because I believe children can help each other. If a child needs a scribe, other children can scribe for him. Children need to feel good about learning and helping one another." I believe this builds a sense of community in her classroom that strengthens the learning experiences and confidence of the students.
The teacher shared her ideas on maintaining enthusiasm for teaching. First she advised that it is important to recognize that every group is a new group of kids. While the teacher may have taught the subject a thousand times before, it is new to them. She says you have to "Keep remembering it's not old hat. It's really, really exciting! How very, very cool it is to look at cell under a microscope for the first time." She says she holds onto "the magic of science and the parts that are unbelievable. I have held onto them like I'm still a child. Not losing the wonder myself." She says this with excitement and convinces me not only is this true for this teacher but as real truth in staying enthusiastic about teaching. Her last advice from her own experience is to be affected by the students' learning, by what is new and unpredictable.
This interview taught me that many of the teaching strategies I use in pre-school teaching are transferable skills to teaching any age. Hands-on activities and multiple ways of teaching a concept are just as important at three years old as they are at sixteen. I also took in a great deal about the school setting that confirmed to me that not only are small schools best to learn in they are best to teach in. Just as students get lost in big schools, I believe it is possible that teachers do too. I believe that a great deal of this teacher's success and continued enthusiasm for teaching comes form her small, family like school setting. Teaching is as much of a passion as it is a vocation. Teachers want to make a difference in the lives of students. I believe that small schools give teacher's the forum they need to make a difference and be successful.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Kristen Rasmussen's Interview with a Third Grade Teacher
The teacher I chose to interview has been teaching for 16 years at the same school. The school she works at serves a military community. With it being on a military base, it is naturally diverse demographically, with students coming and going on a consistent basis to and from many different places in the world. The teacher has 4 English language learners in her class. She is a third grade. We eat lunch together every Tuesday and Thursday in the teacher's lounge where I get to sit in and participate in discussion about what is going on in each class.
We discussed how she came to be teacher and what inspired her to do so, what particular teaching approaches and styles she likes/dislikes using, her thoughts about the current curriculum and how she sometimes modifies it to better suit her students and how she looks back on her career as a teacher as she nears retirement either at the end of this year or next.
When the interview began, she immediately mentioned how teaching as a profession runs in her family. Her family members are her inspiration for wanting to help make our world a better place through touching the lives of children in a positive way, educating them about what the world could be like and how they as young people are the future and can make a difference. Her students have also always been her inspiration, to her there is nothing better than seeing that light switch on in a child's mind when they have learned something new.
As we started to discuss how she approaches her class when teaching a new lesson and what styles she favors, she immediately said that it changes every year according to her new students' strengths and weaknesses. When she went to school to become a teacher, she was mostly educated on direct instruction and therefore that is what she used the most of in her early years of teaching. She emphasized how important it is to continue educating herself and new approaches and styles that fit her students.
Her class this year works particularly well in groups so she tends to find herself grouping the students regularly and encourages authentic discussion in class. She said she finds that students are taking more away from lessons when they learn about them hand-in-hand with their peers through sharing and discussion.
As far as the curriculum goes, she really likes the current literacy/language arts textbooks and manipulatives as opposed to the math. She is partial to the reading texts because they provide plenty of anthologies about things that truly interest her students: stories about outdoor activities, the beach and ocean, sports, etc. She said the math texts are not sequential and it makes it difficult for her to transition from one topic to the next; she has to jump around in the texts to help the students make more sense of it. She modifies lessons for her English language learners by consistently calling upon them to discuss a story or to solve math problems in front of the class to help them use their academic language skills instead of just their writing skills.
As we came to a close on the interview, she began to reflect upon her years as an elementary school teacher and how she has had her ups and downs, sideways and backwards about pretty much everything. But overall she could not be happier with her choice of profession. To her, there is nothing more rewarding than the graciousness of a student who truly learned from her and appreciates her as a teacher and human being. She is planning on retiring very soon as her and her husband look to move out of state. It was my pleasure to sit and discuss teaching with this exemplary person and teacher.
We discussed how she came to be teacher and what inspired her to do so, what particular teaching approaches and styles she likes/dislikes using, her thoughts about the current curriculum and how she sometimes modifies it to better suit her students and how she looks back on her career as a teacher as she nears retirement either at the end of this year or next.
When the interview began, she immediately mentioned how teaching as a profession runs in her family. Her family members are her inspiration for wanting to help make our world a better place through touching the lives of children in a positive way, educating them about what the world could be like and how they as young people are the future and can make a difference. Her students have also always been her inspiration, to her there is nothing better than seeing that light switch on in a child's mind when they have learned something new.
As we started to discuss how she approaches her class when teaching a new lesson and what styles she favors, she immediately said that it changes every year according to her new students' strengths and weaknesses. When she went to school to become a teacher, she was mostly educated on direct instruction and therefore that is what she used the most of in her early years of teaching. She emphasized how important it is to continue educating herself and new approaches and styles that fit her students.
Her class this year works particularly well in groups so she tends to find herself grouping the students regularly and encourages authentic discussion in class. She said she finds that students are taking more away from lessons when they learn about them hand-in-hand with their peers through sharing and discussion.
As far as the curriculum goes, she really likes the current literacy/language arts textbooks and manipulatives as opposed to the math. She is partial to the reading texts because they provide plenty of anthologies about things that truly interest her students: stories about outdoor activities, the beach and ocean, sports, etc. She said the math texts are not sequential and it makes it difficult for her to transition from one topic to the next; she has to jump around in the texts to help the students make more sense of it. She modifies lessons for her English language learners by consistently calling upon them to discuss a story or to solve math problems in front of the class to help them use their academic language skills instead of just their writing skills.
As we came to a close on the interview, she began to reflect upon her years as an elementary school teacher and how she has had her ups and downs, sideways and backwards about pretty much everything. But overall she could not be happier with her choice of profession. To her, there is nothing more rewarding than the graciousness of a student who truly learned from her and appreciates her as a teacher and human being. She is planning on retiring very soon as her and her husband look to move out of state. It was my pleasure to sit and discuss teaching with this exemplary person and teacher.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Elliot Langford's Interview with a First Grade Teacher
Mr. A is a wonderful teacher who has enviable classroom management skills and an uncanny knack for motivating his children at all times. He teaches in a Central Coast school here in California where around 99% of the student body is Latino, and where just about everyone gets free lunch. He himself is not of Latino heritage, however his spouse was born and raised in Mexico until she was 6, so his perspective is quite sharp on the subject of English language learning due to the firsthand stories about the difficulties of adolescent language immersion.
He is committed to the craft of educating for the sake of empowering the youth of his community, and has been doing so for 15 years now. He started off as a kindergarten teacher, then third, and then switched off between first and second grade for the past twelve years. He was awarded his first teaching position at a job fair. He had signed a contract before he walked out the door, telling me that the employer was moved by the fact that he wanted to go back and help his community. All his teaching experience has been in "high-risk, low literacy, and high-crime" communities where the children have had to deal with much, much more than school work. He insists that the children can rise above the negative surroundings and empower themselves to achieve greatness.
He credits his teaching style and philosophy are a reflection of his past educators, and how they were very driven by creating an independent student that was self motivated regardless of what is going on at home. He tries to give his students tools they can use for the rest of their lives and not feel helpless in such dire situations. Mr. A believes "even though they are little, there are a lot of things they can be independent on. There is so much chaos in these kids' lives that they need to be able to rely on themselves because those around constantly let them down." He did admit he was generalizing, but that he has seen this situation so many times that he wants the children to be independent learners and not have to wait on their moms or their dads to help them.
He keeps the expectations very high in the class, and believes kids know what level they are achieving. He does not hide the fact that some kids' scores are not as high as others, and really pushes the low performers to work extra hard to move up. Instead of simply passing the kids along and worrying about protecting their feelings through sugar-coated deficiencies, he makes sure they understand that they need to improve and why. In most cases he says, it has a tremendous effect.
When I asked him what keeps him enthusiastic and motivated to teach, he admittedly risked sounding cliché, and told me it was the simple act of teaching children. "Shutting the door and getting to work with the kids" he said. He added, "All the grown up junk is really bad here, and they are taking opportunities away from kids because they are continuing the chaos. I teach as if my own kids were sitting in my classroom. What kind of teacher would I want for my kids? Grown-ups get in the way, and if not for the kids, I would have quit by now." I'm sure lots of teachers feel this way, and I am very happy to hear this. He doesn't have a resentful or vitriolic tone when sharing these thoughts, but rather a matter-of-fact viewpoint of a troublesome issue that he may have found a panacea for.
Mr. A creates a classroom community by grouping his students at tables rather than individual desks to create "families" that rely and help each other. "Ask three before me" is in effect so the students seek out answers and solve problems together before asking the teacher. Over time, this method transforms the students into teachers themselves who help each other at all times. They really get the sense of family and want each other to succeed. There is also a lot of peer discussion and validating each student's ideas so they feel their critical thoughts are awesome and worthy of sharing. Mr. A sounded excited when describing his classroom and the children inside, which made me feel good about choosing to teach.
Mr. A claims his reward is when he hears his name while visiting the local high school that his old students now attend. Feeling a little embarrassed about sounding needy, he stated "It's a great feeling. The students still love you." I'm sure the love is there because he tells his students that, "Once I'm your teacher, I'm always your teacher" and creates that everlasting bond because he cares about their well being, and it won't fade over time.
I want to be a great teacher who inspires children to think big and be great, like Mr. A does. I really enjoyed hearing about high-risk students being able to achieve and be responsible at such an early age. "Even though they're little, they can be independent" will no doubt be a theme of my own classroom so all my students will have the power to succeed, no matter the circumstance.
He is committed to the craft of educating for the sake of empowering the youth of his community, and has been doing so for 15 years now. He started off as a kindergarten teacher, then third, and then switched off between first and second grade for the past twelve years. He was awarded his first teaching position at a job fair. He had signed a contract before he walked out the door, telling me that the employer was moved by the fact that he wanted to go back and help his community. All his teaching experience has been in "high-risk, low literacy, and high-crime" communities where the children have had to deal with much, much more than school work. He insists that the children can rise above the negative surroundings and empower themselves to achieve greatness.
He credits his teaching style and philosophy are a reflection of his past educators, and how they were very driven by creating an independent student that was self motivated regardless of what is going on at home. He tries to give his students tools they can use for the rest of their lives and not feel helpless in such dire situations. Mr. A believes "even though they are little, there are a lot of things they can be independent on. There is so much chaos in these kids' lives that they need to be able to rely on themselves because those around constantly let them down." He did admit he was generalizing, but that he has seen this situation so many times that he wants the children to be independent learners and not have to wait on their moms or their dads to help them.
He keeps the expectations very high in the class, and believes kids know what level they are achieving. He does not hide the fact that some kids' scores are not as high as others, and really pushes the low performers to work extra hard to move up. Instead of simply passing the kids along and worrying about protecting their feelings through sugar-coated deficiencies, he makes sure they understand that they need to improve and why. In most cases he says, it has a tremendous effect.
When I asked him what keeps him enthusiastic and motivated to teach, he admittedly risked sounding cliché, and told me it was the simple act of teaching children. "Shutting the door and getting to work with the kids" he said. He added, "All the grown up junk is really bad here, and they are taking opportunities away from kids because they are continuing the chaos. I teach as if my own kids were sitting in my classroom. What kind of teacher would I want for my kids? Grown-ups get in the way, and if not for the kids, I would have quit by now." I'm sure lots of teachers feel this way, and I am very happy to hear this. He doesn't have a resentful or vitriolic tone when sharing these thoughts, but rather a matter-of-fact viewpoint of a troublesome issue that he may have found a panacea for.
Mr. A creates a classroom community by grouping his students at tables rather than individual desks to create "families" that rely and help each other. "Ask three before me" is in effect so the students seek out answers and solve problems together before asking the teacher. Over time, this method transforms the students into teachers themselves who help each other at all times. They really get the sense of family and want each other to succeed. There is also a lot of peer discussion and validating each student's ideas so they feel their critical thoughts are awesome and worthy of sharing. Mr. A sounded excited when describing his classroom and the children inside, which made me feel good about choosing to teach.
Mr. A claims his reward is when he hears his name while visiting the local high school that his old students now attend. Feeling a little embarrassed about sounding needy, he stated "It's a great feeling. The students still love you." I'm sure the love is there because he tells his students that, "Once I'm your teacher, I'm always your teacher" and creates that everlasting bond because he cares about their well being, and it won't fade over time.
I want to be a great teacher who inspires children to think big and be great, like Mr. A does. I really enjoyed hearing about high-risk students being able to achieve and be responsible at such an early age. "Even though they're little, they can be independent" will no doubt be a theme of my own classroom so all my students will have the power to succeed, no matter the circumstance.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Jenna Oliverio's Interview with a First Grade Teacher
Mrs. X is a passionate, well-known, and very experienced first grade teacher. The school has a large Hispanic population, sitting at 94%, with the other 6% made up of White, Pacific Islander, and Black students. One hundred percent of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch. The district is currently under a state-appointed trustee, who has been given full administrative authority over the district. While there is a rough political climate affecting the district, Mrs. X has yet to lose enthusiasm for what she teaches and believes in.
Mrs. X is in her 30th year as a teacher and 27th in the district. After graduating from Chico State, she spent her first three years down in South County. She has taught in four different schools in her current district, teaching bilingual kindergarten, bilingual first grade, and her current position in a first grade English language development classroom. She has always taught in schools serving low-income students, primarily with high Hispanic populations.
I chose to interview Mrs. X because she has participated in so many different district-run and privately funded foundations. She began as part of the Mid-California Science Improvement Program (MCSIP), founded and funded by the Packard foundation. She was a science model and developed new science lesson plans and ways to improve curriculum over the summer and during breaks in the school year. For over five years, she was a literacy coach for Effective First Teaching (EFT) through the district. Later, she became a reading coach for the same program; her experience in bilingual and language development in kindergarten and first grade enabled her to be a master in the subject areas. She really enjoyed working for the district and taking a break from the classroom for the few years she did it; it truly helped her become a better teacher. The most beneficial and recent position she undertook was when she did consulting across the United States. She traveled with the program coordinator as a model teacher for Integrated Thematic Instruction. It was a program developed to increase student performance and teacher satisfaction, with a primary purpose to grow responsible citizens. Now that she is back in the classroom, she definitely misses all the workshops and trainings, but is happy to use what she has been developing.
Mrs. X is such a neat teacher to observe. When I asked her about her own philosophy, passion filled up our conversation. She told me, "No one can take away your education; you have a choice to be educated." After thirty years in the teaching profession, she still cries at every back-to-school night while explaining this to the parents. It was interesting to me that she was the first in her family to graduate college and go on to a profession like she did; she called it, "her way out." Even though she is close to retiring, she can't imagine her life without urging students to give it their all and be as passionate as she is about education.
Mrs. X's classroom is bright and fun, with student work on the walls and posters to boost first grade knowledge. The students in her class are seated boy-girl, boy-girl in two separate columns of five rows with either two or three students in each row. Though Mrs. X is fluent in Spanish, she rarely uses it in the classroom. The only time she really relies on it is when she is speaking with parents, trying to calm a student down, or helping to better explain something to a student who doesn't understand. She started to learn Spanish while student teaching in Yuba City and became fluent through class at Hartnell and Salinas Adult School.
A normal day in the classroom consists of mostly whole class, direct instruction. Due to scripted curriculum, she is unable to truly do what she wants with the class, but tends to make the instruction creative in her own way. She will occasionally break the students up into leveled small groups. For example, there are four different reading levels for universal access; the stars (30+ words a minute), watermelons (8-20 words), bananas (3-7 words), and apples (can only make out sounds). She does a different reading activity with each group at the end of the day as to tailor instruction to each student's abilities. For the most part, whole group instruction seems to be very beneficial for her. The students stay on task and she switches subjects often enough to account for the attention span of a six year old.
Mrs. X has yet to lose her enthusiasm for teaching. I find this pretty neat because I hope that after 30+ years of teaching, I am just as enthusiastic as she is. She just said she enjoys the way she has a new class every year and by the time you really get used to the group, they are passed on to the next grade level. Every day, she has five to ten students from previous years come in during their break or lunch to help with the class. It is amazing to me that a teacher would have so many students who would rather stay in at their own free time to come back and help their old teacher. The most rewarding part about teaching for her is seeing the way the students soak up such a vast range of information in such a short amount of time. The one reason she has never gone up to higher grades is due to the difference she can make with these young students. While first grade is extremely tough, I can completely understand where she is coming from; the thing I find most exciting about younger students, is their ability to learn so much!
It was really neat to hear about all the extra things she has done in education. She has a true passion for children, education, and helping teachers improve their quality of instruction. I look forward to learning more about her and finding out how to become a teacher like her.
Mrs. X is in her 30th year as a teacher and 27th in the district. After graduating from Chico State, she spent her first three years down in South County. She has taught in four different schools in her current district, teaching bilingual kindergarten, bilingual first grade, and her current position in a first grade English language development classroom. She has always taught in schools serving low-income students, primarily with high Hispanic populations.
I chose to interview Mrs. X because she has participated in so many different district-run and privately funded foundations. She began as part of the Mid-California Science Improvement Program (MCSIP), founded and funded by the Packard foundation. She was a science model and developed new science lesson plans and ways to improve curriculum over the summer and during breaks in the school year. For over five years, she was a literacy coach for Effective First Teaching (EFT) through the district. Later, she became a reading coach for the same program; her experience in bilingual and language development in kindergarten and first grade enabled her to be a master in the subject areas. She really enjoyed working for the district and taking a break from the classroom for the few years she did it; it truly helped her become a better teacher. The most beneficial and recent position she undertook was when she did consulting across the United States. She traveled with the program coordinator as a model teacher for Integrated Thematic Instruction. It was a program developed to increase student performance and teacher satisfaction, with a primary purpose to grow responsible citizens. Now that she is back in the classroom, she definitely misses all the workshops and trainings, but is happy to use what she has been developing.
Mrs. X is such a neat teacher to observe. When I asked her about her own philosophy, passion filled up our conversation. She told me, "No one can take away your education; you have a choice to be educated." After thirty years in the teaching profession, she still cries at every back-to-school night while explaining this to the parents. It was interesting to me that she was the first in her family to graduate college and go on to a profession like she did; she called it, "her way out." Even though she is close to retiring, she can't imagine her life without urging students to give it their all and be as passionate as she is about education.
Mrs. X's classroom is bright and fun, with student work on the walls and posters to boost first grade knowledge. The students in her class are seated boy-girl, boy-girl in two separate columns of five rows with either two or three students in each row. Though Mrs. X is fluent in Spanish, she rarely uses it in the classroom. The only time she really relies on it is when she is speaking with parents, trying to calm a student down, or helping to better explain something to a student who doesn't understand. She started to learn Spanish while student teaching in Yuba City and became fluent through class at Hartnell and Salinas Adult School.
A normal day in the classroom consists of mostly whole class, direct instruction. Due to scripted curriculum, she is unable to truly do what she wants with the class, but tends to make the instruction creative in her own way. She will occasionally break the students up into leveled small groups. For example, there are four different reading levels for universal access; the stars (30+ words a minute), watermelons (8-20 words), bananas (3-7 words), and apples (can only make out sounds). She does a different reading activity with each group at the end of the day as to tailor instruction to each student's abilities. For the most part, whole group instruction seems to be very beneficial for her. The students stay on task and she switches subjects often enough to account for the attention span of a six year old.
Mrs. X has yet to lose her enthusiasm for teaching. I find this pretty neat because I hope that after 30+ years of teaching, I am just as enthusiastic as she is. She just said she enjoys the way she has a new class every year and by the time you really get used to the group, they are passed on to the next grade level. Every day, she has five to ten students from previous years come in during their break or lunch to help with the class. It is amazing to me that a teacher would have so many students who would rather stay in at their own free time to come back and help their old teacher. The most rewarding part about teaching for her is seeing the way the students soak up such a vast range of information in such a short amount of time. The one reason she has never gone up to higher grades is due to the difference she can make with these young students. While first grade is extremely tough, I can completely understand where she is coming from; the thing I find most exciting about younger students, is their ability to learn so much!
It was really neat to hear about all the extra things she has done in education. She has a true passion for children, education, and helping teachers improve their quality of instruction. I look forward to learning more about her and finding out how to become a teacher like her.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tim Goldstein's Interview with a Third Grade Teacher
Well aware of having to conduct an interview with a teacher at my school, I kept my eyes open and my ears peeled for a teacher that would fit the requirements during the first week. Fortunately for me, my master teacher went on vacation the second week, which put me into a different teacher’s classroom. This teacher happened to be “Frank” a seasoned vet with over ten years experience, a distinct teaching philosophy and extra motivation to educate his third grade students.
The setting of this interview takes place at a school situated in the heart of a small agricultural city in California. Surrounded by bountiful farmlands, the population is predominantly of Mexican heritage. That being said, the student body is also predominantly of Mexican heritage. When driving to the school you pass through a development comprised of stucco homes with clean landscaped yards and concrete driveways. One might think of it as a more upscale development, but it turns out that multiple families, many of which attend the school, occupy most of these homes.
The interview with third grade teacher Frank, (not his real name), took place outside on a picnic table during lunch hour on a warm and sunny afternoon. I had informed Frank of the questions I would be asking, per his request, days prior to the interview so he had an understanding of what to expect. Frank is a relaxed, soft spoken teacher of about 45 years of age. It turns out that he is also very timid and wished not to discuss much about either his personal life or professional career.
Prior to teaching professionally, Frank attended Fresno State where he studied History, Math and Computer Science. Since then he has been professionally teaching for 19 years. Eight of those years have been at here and the rest took place at three other schools in grades ranging from Junior High down to third grade. He chose not to share which schools he taught at but each was located in the state of California. Of all the grades Frank has taught, third grade seems to be the best fit for him due to the maturity level of the students and their will and eagerness to learn.
When asked to describe his teaching philosophy, he kept it very short and sweet by saying, “To develop productive citizens, teach respect and encourage the love of learning with specific goals in mind.” Although not too much detail was included with his philosophy, I was able to witness it firsthand in the classroom. Because of this philosophy and because of it being the first month of school, developing productive and respectful citizens seemed to be the most important thing. Third grade students need to be taught procedures and respect for their environment at the beginning of the year. His classroom is like a well-oiled machine. Rarely does he have to raise his voice since the students know that nonsense will not be tolerated. He has a cool and calm demeanor that the children respect and rarely does he exude anger or frustration.
Having a classroom of 36 students, the most in the school, is difficult enough to begin with. But when asked how he goes about organizing his classroom, Frank calmly responded, “Just surviving now.” Throughout the first several weeks he puts the students into long rows. When they have developed a better sense of procedures, respect and being productive, he will separate them into 5 or 6 groups. This will prevent classroom management problems and seems to work in his favor each year. But for now, the three rows of desks take up most of the classroom. There are several computers along the side and back walls. Typical third grade classroom posters, memorization charts, graphs and other motivational signs decorate the walls from top to bottom.
I admired Frank’s teaching strategies when I sat through his lessons. He seems to have a solid grasp on classroom management. One of his best methods is the “silent wait,” as he calls it. When students are chatting and find that he is waiting silently, they suddenly become attentive and respect his silence. To me, this seems much easier and less stressful than raising your voice and having to talk over the noise. For his delivery of the lesson, he uses an abundance of visuals and displays to help the students relate to the subject matter. During reading lessons, he practices peer tutoring as well as whole class practice. The language lesson I witnessed was a read aloud lesson where he read a paragraph aloud and the kids followed along once he finished. For math he stresses the importance of computer programs in helping the students learn. His approach begins with foundational basics then moves towards concepts and includes a lot of cumulative review to help reinforce the lessons.
As far as finding ways to meet the needs of the diverse population of students in the standardized teaching climate, Frank informed me that he tries multiple approaches that he finds beneficial. Sometimes he will teach the same lesson twice making it more simplified for the limited English proficient students. He will also pair English learning students with those who are more proficient in the language to help better assist them. As he mentioned in his math lessons, he even stresses using computer programs for English learners. “There is a lot of technology available nowadays that didn’t exist before. Some of these programs like AR [Accelerated Reader] and Imagine Learning are technologically designed for English learners and are really helpful.”
While the other third grade classes run and do stretches during early morning PE, he has other plans for his class. He believes that, “Coordination, strength and agility are developed through games. The kids don’t think they’re exercising when they’re playing games because they’re focused on the objective instead.” His students line up on the playground and wait until they correctly answer math or geography questions before they can run across to the other side. The other classes await a whistle. I noticed this strategy early on in the year and find it to be very creative and successful. This way the students are exercising their minds as well as their bodies.
In order to be a successful teacher, especially at this grade level, one must stay motivated in order to keep the students engaged. “I love kids and like being able to accomplish goals,” says Frank. “The maturity level they’re at and their eagerness to learn is something that keeps me motivated.” And he continued to explain how watching them learn and being able to interact with them as they do is the most rewarding aspect of the teaching profession. If it were not for these things mentioned above it would be hard to maintain the enthusiasm he does on a daily basis. Every job has a tendency to become monotonous at times which can lead to lack of motivation. But when the future of 36 students lies in your hands, it is important to stay motivated, enthusiastic and focused throughout the entire year.
Witnessing the differences in strategy, technique and approach in the classroom was what helped me learn the most throughout this interview process. Each teacher has their own personality, which reflects on their teaching style. Frank brings his calmness to the table when instructing his class and it seems to work wonders. As a student teacher, simple setbacks can lead to frustration and can be discouraging. But the right amount of motivation, a positive attitude and a several years of experience can lead to an outstanding career. It is also very beneficial for a student teacher like myself to observe as many different teaching strategies as possible to help mold one of my own.
The setting of this interview takes place at a school situated in the heart of a small agricultural city in California. Surrounded by bountiful farmlands, the population is predominantly of Mexican heritage. That being said, the student body is also predominantly of Mexican heritage. When driving to the school you pass through a development comprised of stucco homes with clean landscaped yards and concrete driveways. One might think of it as a more upscale development, but it turns out that multiple families, many of which attend the school, occupy most of these homes.
The interview with third grade teacher Frank, (not his real name), took place outside on a picnic table during lunch hour on a warm and sunny afternoon. I had informed Frank of the questions I would be asking, per his request, days prior to the interview so he had an understanding of what to expect. Frank is a relaxed, soft spoken teacher of about 45 years of age. It turns out that he is also very timid and wished not to discuss much about either his personal life or professional career.
Prior to teaching professionally, Frank attended Fresno State where he studied History, Math and Computer Science. Since then he has been professionally teaching for 19 years. Eight of those years have been at here and the rest took place at three other schools in grades ranging from Junior High down to third grade. He chose not to share which schools he taught at but each was located in the state of California. Of all the grades Frank has taught, third grade seems to be the best fit for him due to the maturity level of the students and their will and eagerness to learn.
When asked to describe his teaching philosophy, he kept it very short and sweet by saying, “To develop productive citizens, teach respect and encourage the love of learning with specific goals in mind.” Although not too much detail was included with his philosophy, I was able to witness it firsthand in the classroom. Because of this philosophy and because of it being the first month of school, developing productive and respectful citizens seemed to be the most important thing. Third grade students need to be taught procedures and respect for their environment at the beginning of the year. His classroom is like a well-oiled machine. Rarely does he have to raise his voice since the students know that nonsense will not be tolerated. He has a cool and calm demeanor that the children respect and rarely does he exude anger or frustration.
Having a classroom of 36 students, the most in the school, is difficult enough to begin with. But when asked how he goes about organizing his classroom, Frank calmly responded, “Just surviving now.” Throughout the first several weeks he puts the students into long rows. When they have developed a better sense of procedures, respect and being productive, he will separate them into 5 or 6 groups. This will prevent classroom management problems and seems to work in his favor each year. But for now, the three rows of desks take up most of the classroom. There are several computers along the side and back walls. Typical third grade classroom posters, memorization charts, graphs and other motivational signs decorate the walls from top to bottom.
I admired Frank’s teaching strategies when I sat through his lessons. He seems to have a solid grasp on classroom management. One of his best methods is the “silent wait,” as he calls it. When students are chatting and find that he is waiting silently, they suddenly become attentive and respect his silence. To me, this seems much easier and less stressful than raising your voice and having to talk over the noise. For his delivery of the lesson, he uses an abundance of visuals and displays to help the students relate to the subject matter. During reading lessons, he practices peer tutoring as well as whole class practice. The language lesson I witnessed was a read aloud lesson where he read a paragraph aloud and the kids followed along once he finished. For math he stresses the importance of computer programs in helping the students learn. His approach begins with foundational basics then moves towards concepts and includes a lot of cumulative review to help reinforce the lessons.
As far as finding ways to meet the needs of the diverse population of students in the standardized teaching climate, Frank informed me that he tries multiple approaches that he finds beneficial. Sometimes he will teach the same lesson twice making it more simplified for the limited English proficient students. He will also pair English learning students with those who are more proficient in the language to help better assist them. As he mentioned in his math lessons, he even stresses using computer programs for English learners. “There is a lot of technology available nowadays that didn’t exist before. Some of these programs like AR [Accelerated Reader] and Imagine Learning are technologically designed for English learners and are really helpful.”
While the other third grade classes run and do stretches during early morning PE, he has other plans for his class. He believes that, “Coordination, strength and agility are developed through games. The kids don’t think they’re exercising when they’re playing games because they’re focused on the objective instead.” His students line up on the playground and wait until they correctly answer math or geography questions before they can run across to the other side. The other classes await a whistle. I noticed this strategy early on in the year and find it to be very creative and successful. This way the students are exercising their minds as well as their bodies.
In order to be a successful teacher, especially at this grade level, one must stay motivated in order to keep the students engaged. “I love kids and like being able to accomplish goals,” says Frank. “The maturity level they’re at and their eagerness to learn is something that keeps me motivated.” And he continued to explain how watching them learn and being able to interact with them as they do is the most rewarding aspect of the teaching profession. If it were not for these things mentioned above it would be hard to maintain the enthusiasm he does on a daily basis. Every job has a tendency to become monotonous at times which can lead to lack of motivation. But when the future of 36 students lies in your hands, it is important to stay motivated, enthusiastic and focused throughout the entire year.
Witnessing the differences in strategy, technique and approach in the classroom was what helped me learn the most throughout this interview process. Each teacher has their own personality, which reflects on their teaching style. Frank brings his calmness to the table when instructing his class and it seems to work wonders. As a student teacher, simple setbacks can lead to frustration and can be discouraging. But the right amount of motivation, a positive attitude and a several years of experience can lead to an outstanding career. It is also very beneficial for a student teacher like myself to observe as many different teaching strategies as possible to help mold one of my own.
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