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EDU 280
11-22-15
Teacher Interview
finishers. She uses a chart for behavior good or bad the student clips up or
down. On the other wall she has posters one for math on the bridges from 11000 and the other three posters are what is required from them when
writing and what they are working on such as Adjectives, transitions, and
Plots of a story. She refers to these posters a lot so the kids know what to
expect and to answers correctly when asked a questions. One of the
interview questions I asked her was what kind of teaching strategies do you
see (if any) to integrate cultural diversity into your classroom? She answered,
I pull in different type of stories, and novels from different cultures. As we
read these stories/novels, we compare and contrast the cultures with the
students culture. Literature is a great way to integrate cultural diversity. I
saw this while observing her class she picked two stories Cinderella and The
Rough Faced Girl. The story was about a Native American character, and
gave a lot of cultural details in the story. After both stories were read the
students made a Venn diagram and had a class discussion on the similarities
and differences in the two stories. They opened the discussion in class on
different cultural differences and certain traditions Native American have
compared to Cinderella. All students interacted in this discussion. I got a
sense from her classroom that the students are very comfortable with her.
After my observation I got to spend some time with her while the kids
went to lunch and asked her a few more questions. These were the
questions I asked her on multicultural teaching. How does your school
benefit from integrating multicultural education into the classroom? She
mind is being professional and keeping our own views out of our teaching
and work environment. I asked her what kind of cultural activities do you
integrate into your classroom? Her reply, As I just mentioned before I like to
bring literature into the classroom. I also encourage students to learn their
family history and also around the holidays students write and share with
their peers what their family traditions are. It is interesting how differently
some families celebrate the holidays. I use engage NY as one resource to
guide my instructions. This resource has many activities and lessons that
integrate multicultural activities. I will keep in mind this resource so when I
become a teacher I can get guidance in my lesson plans to integrate
multicultural activities. I wanted to know if she had any experience working
with diverse socioeconomic students? Her response was, When teaching I
teach the standards and help students that are struggling. Sometimes my
strugglers are from high socioeconomic backgrounds and sometimes they
are from low. Students will struggle with behavior and academics no matter
what socio-economic background they come from. If you teach to each
students strengths then you know you are doing your job. I agree 100% with
her reply on this question it shouldnt matter what socioeconomic they come
from treat every student as equals and help the kids that need the extra
attention. I wanted to know if she had any experience dealing with a student
who uses derogative, racial slurs. Mrs. Stones replied, This has actually
already occurred twice this year. With the first incident, I pulled the student
to the side and asked if they knew what the racial slur he said meant. He
said he didnt but had heard it on TV I gave him a warning and told him it
was best to avoid saying things that he didnt know the meaning to. I didnt
have a problem with him again. Recently I had another student use a racial
slur and when I asked the same question he said he did understand what he
said. In this case I went straight to my administrator and they took care of it
from there. I was a little surprised that students at this young of age that
already know the meaning of this but you have to be prepared to deal with
any situation as a teacher. We were asked this question in our class and
wanted to know her opinion on it. Do you think standardized tests are
culturally bias? She tells me, Honestly, its been two years since Ive had to
give a standardized test so thats a difficult question to answer. When we use
to give CRTs we werent allowed to look at the tests so even its hard to give
my opinion on. I said close to the same thing when asked this question I
havent been around these tests so I couldnt give my opinion on this matter.
I always like to ask these last two questions for my personal
information because I like to get a since of how people think about
themselves and careers and it gives me an idea of what to expect when I
enter into this profession. What makes you a good teacher? She replies,
Flexibility, willing to change, continuing with my education, love for what I
do, patiencelots of patience, and support of other teachers around me. I
thought these were all great qualities to have as a teacher and that she
realizes what she does and self reflects on her teacher to make her a good
teacher year after year. Whats the hardest thing you had to overcome as a
teacher? She said, Over the past 20 years I have to say my biggest struggle
has been time and patience. Some days there just arent enough hours in the
day to get everything taught. There arent enough hours to get everything
planned and graded. Ive had to learn there is only so much I can do in a day
and the rest can wait until tomorrow. Ive also had to learn that somedays Im
not as patient as I should be with my students. We are teachers we arent
perfect so I try again tomorrow to be more understanding and patient with
my class. I like that she never gives up and retries tomorrow if today didnt
work out the way she wanted. As teachers we have to be able to take the
good with the bad and never take it out on our students. We always have to
be an intentional teacher.
I really enjoyed interviewing and observing Mrs. Stones class. I learned
a lot from her answers and how she taught her class. I wrote down a few
ideas for my classroom when I become a future teacher. Im glad I got to
observe how she integrates multicultural teaching in her classroom. She
gave me a lot of pointers and put some of my anxiety of becoming a teacher
to rest.