Interview
with Veteran Teacher (20 plus years of teaching)
I conducted my interview with a female teacher that has been
teaching in Florida for 27 years. Majority of her experience is in elementary
education. She currently teaches first grade. The Following are the questions
that I asked as well as her answers-
1.
What is
a discipline technique that you have found that works well?
“I have found that pulling children out in
to the hallway to talk to them one-on-one and away from the class works very
well. Students feel like they can talk to you when no one is watching. I use
the technique of ‘confession, forgiveness, and resolution.’ I walk through
those steps with the child until we have reached complete resolution.”
2.
What is a discipline technique that you have
found that does not work well?
“I have found that disciplining a child in
front of his or her peers does not yield good results. The students often
shutdown and get very embarrassed. It is hard to get resolution and confession
this way. Also, waiting until later never seems to work as well. You must deal
with the problem right then and there if possible to do so.”
3.
Describe
ways that you try to communicate effectively with parents even when you are
having a hard conversation.
“I use the sandwich technique- Concerns
sandwiched in between positives.”
4.
What
are ways that you get parents to feel they are involved
“I always send out a yearly agenda of
projects and field trips and welcome the parents to attend field trips as well
as sign up for a classroom project they would like to assist with in class.
This way the parents have the choice to decide what, if anything, they can
attend but it still allows them to feel included and a part of what is
happening in their child’s class.”
5.
Do you
feel standardized testing benefits students or not?
“I am of the belief that standardized tests
benefit teachers more than students. I think as a teacher it is so nice to have
the data and be able to track your students as well as fill in where you may
see holes from their testing. However, I do not think majority of students
actually benefit from standardized teaching. I think it causes more anxiety and
fear than anything else.”
6.
Do you
feel private school funding or public school funding is a more effective way
for schools to attain their money?
“I cannot speak for public schools as I
feel I do not know enough. However, I do think as far as private schools go, we
could absolutely use a re-evaluation in funding. I think we need more grants
specifically. It is hard when all of your funding comes from the pockets of the
parents. Gives room for parents to feel the right to dictate where the money
goes.”
7.
Do you
believe common core is effective? Why or why not? Should all schools adopt the
same core curriculum?
“I think common core absolutely has its place.
I think as far as math goes it is fairly reputable. But to say that every
school needs to have the same core curriculum is a little naïve. So many
students and school populations differ that I do not think the same curriculum
across the board would address all teaching modalities.”
8.
What is
best way to involve the community in your classroom?
“We try to actively involve our students in
service projects for our community such as food drives, and appreciation cards
for the local fire department. We also make a couple visits a year to the
nursing homes in our area to offer help and joy to the elderly people in our
community.”
9.
Do you
feel technology improves students scores/grades/learning?
“Yes I do. I feel personally at least in my
own classroom having technology allows students to explore their learning to a
whole new level. When used correctly it opens up so many different modes of
learning.”
10. How has education changed for the better or
for the worse in the last 20 years?
“I think it has changed for the worse in
the last 20 years. For example Kindergarten students today are the same they
were then but the curriculum and the expectations have changed drastically.
What was appropriate for a five year old to know then is what three and four
year olds are learning now. I find more and more that children are not being
reached where they are developmentally.”
I found that I agree with many of the
answers that she gave, for example that you should not discipline a child in
front of his or her peers. I have done that myself and found that it only
faired to be much worse in the end. I also agree that our curriculum and
objectives for young students often creates a developmental gap.
