Teacher

Inquiry
Project
By Adrienne Ducato
Project Overview
● For this assignment, I interviewed three of the teachers I have had
personally. In addition, the topic I researched was about the perceptions of
the status of teachers and the teaching profession.
Questions
1. What college did you attend? What degrees have you earned?
2. How many years have you been in this profession?
3. How did you decide upon this profession?
4. What grades have you taught? Which is the current grade you teach?
5. What subjects have you taught?
6. Primarily, what are the student demographics you have taught?
7. What are the best aspects of being a teacher? What is your fondest memory?
8. What has been the most challenging thing you have had to overcome in your
career?
9. What keeps you motivated in regards to this career?
10. How do you handle teaching students who are not all on the same learning
level as their peers?
11. What advice do you have for prospective teachers?
Mrs. Mary McGovern - VanShaack
● My first grade teacher at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish School.
● Bakersfield College (BA), California State University of Bakersfield (MA) for
teaching credential and counseling degree, Mount Saint Mary’s for religion
degree
● Forty-two years in this profession (Retired)
● First Grade / Multi-subject
● Student Demographic: well-educated parents and affluent grandparents;
however, some are not in this category and receive financial aid
Mr. Timothy Gordon
● My honors Theology teacher senior year at Garces Memorial High School
● University of Texas, Dallas (BA), Loyola Marymount (MA), Pontifical
Gregorian University (Ph.L), University of San Diego, School of Law (JD)
● Six years as a high school teacher & instructed college as an adjunct for two
● Has taught ninth through twelfth grade, but currently teaches eleventh and
twelfth / Algebra, Literature, Philosophy, & Theology
● Racially diverse, upper middle class
Professor Cheramie Leo
● My freshman Service-Learning Expository Writing teacher at Dominican
University of California
● Dominican University of California (BA & MA)
● Six to ten years
● Has taught first-years to seniors at the college level / Literature,
Composition, Life Skills, Mastering College, & Mentor Training
● Diverse mixture of ethnic identities, abilities and disabilities, gender and
sexual orientations
Quotes from Mrs. McGovern
● “My dad did not believe girls should go to college because he thought we
were ‘Not smart enough.’ I began by helping with at home child care and the
dad of one children was a principal. He inspired me to teach at age forty-six
by telling me it is ‘Never too late to start.’”
● “You are giving them the chance to have a beautiful, well-rounded
education. I’ll never forget when my husband died. The children wondered
what they could do to help. I told them ‘Hugs always warm me up,’ and they
responded ‘We can do that.’ I was back Monday because I knew these
children would be my healers.”
● “A mother of a son and daughter I taught took her life. This was upsetting
because I couldn’t understand why as a mom she would have taken such a
drastic measure.”
Quotes from Mrs. McGovern
● “The newness of each day and never knowing what the day will be bring. The
days are like the colors of a rainbow because I never know which color will
be the most intense.”
● “I put them in desk close to me. This way I have easy access to be able to
reinforce good behavior. Also, ask for more special time after school because
the students need more time to learn and be taught by the teacher. Never
shun them!”
● “Be ready for many surprises because that is what teaching is all about. It is
like a box of chocolates. I just can’t get enough of it because it truly is the
most exciting career.”
Quotes from Mr. Gordon
● “Leading people is all I ever wanted to do. The Catholic principle of
subsidiarity dictates that the best way to exercise influence is up-close and
in real-life. Teaching moral theology to young adults before they go off to
college is the most important thing that can be imparted.”
● “The best aspect of being a teacher is the ability to show students the one
true faith: socialism, atheism, and scientism all come up demonstrably short
when students see the truth of the Catholic intellectual tradition. My best
memories are any times where this has happened (about ten in my career).”
Quotes from Mr. Gordon
● “Learning to interact with high school kids as a young teacher was the most
difficult aspect of the job, especially since I looked more like them at the
beginning of my career.”
● “All that keeps me motivated is bringing students to the Way, the Truth, and
the Life.”
● “Learn a lot about something; mastery is what is required in order to be a
true teacher.”
Quotes from Professor Leo
● “When I was a kid, I saw several movies featuring charismatic and impactful
educators, such as Sister Act II, Dangerous Minds, and Dead Poet's Society,
and I also used to line my stuffed animals up and pretend to teach them. I
guess, in a way, it was something I always wanted to do. Then I enjoyed the
experience of having several excellent English teachers in high school, all of
which furthered my interest in teaching.”
Quotes from Professor Leo
● “Getting to learn from the students and from the process of teaching itself. I
am constantly learning and evolving in response to things I've had to learn in
order to teach them, or things students have said to me or taught me.
Honestly, Adrienne, my fondest memory right now is probably of the
Theatre of the Oppressed workshop last year, when you commented on the
power that educators have and indicated that you thought I could use my
power as an educator to change the system. I even referenced that in an
application I recently submitted to a doctoral program.”
Quotes from Professor Leo
● “Limited resources and people's fears around change. We have many
low-cost, innovative options available to us as educators, but it's hard to take
a risk and deviate from what has been done in the past ... and because
resources are so limited, many people in education don't even feel like they
have the time or energy to experiment or innovate. It's also really hard
working with the power imbalance and seeing how exhausted students are,
and how unequitable the system can be, but feeling limited in my ability to
address those problems.”
Quotes from Professor Leo
● “I'm motivated by the transformation I see my students go through, by the
ways in which they teach me to be a better person, and by the hope they give
me for a better world! When I go to work, I'm excited to grow and to learn,
and I'm also really excited to connect with other passionate educators as
well as with students who are giving their all to the work of growing and
learning, every day.”
Quotes from Professor Leo
● “I really try to use the principles of universal design as often as possible to
have accommodations for multiple learning styles, levels, etc. built into the
classroom experience from the beginning. Over the years, this has given me
more and more time to support students who need extra support. I also try
to utilize the students themselves, who all have skills and talents, to support
each other -- so setting up opportunities for students who are more
advanced in one area to support students who are vulnerable, and then
giving the more vulnerable students opportunities to showcase their
strengths, as well.”
● “If you love it ... if you're truly passionate ... do it. It is so worth it. But don't
forget to really, really commit to plenty of self-care! Set the example for
your students, and you will all benefit.”
The Low Status
of Teachers: A
Global “As countries become more
Western in their orientation, in
Epidemic? their economies, and in their
outlook and values, the prestige of
Falla, J. (2013). The low status of the teaching profession decreases.”
teachers: A global epidemic?
Retrieved from https://
www.smith.edu/insight/stor
ies/teaching.php
 Teachers Versus the
Public : What
Americans Think “Parents, the public, and teachers
share the same beliefs about the
About Schools and importance of good teaching and
How to Fix Them strong neighborhood schools. For
all who care about kids, the
Peterson, P. E., West, M. R., & challenge is to act on this shared
Henderson, M. B. (2014). vision.”
Teachers versus the public :
What Americans think about
schools and how to fix them.
Washington, D.C.: Brookings
Institution Press.
 THE STATUS OF
TEACHERS “Attracting motivated individuals
AND THE TEACHING to the profession, providing them
PROFESSION with the means to develop into
high-quality professionals and
A STUDY OF EDUCATION
motivating them to stay in
UNIONS’ PERSPECTIVES education are the key determinants
Kalin, J., Čepić, R., & Šteh, B. for any policy recommendation on
(2017). The status of teacher status.”
teachers and the teaching
profession: A study of
elementary school teachers’
perspectives. BCES
Conference Books, Vol 15,
Pp 59-65 (2017), 59.
Findings
● Status refers to one’s standing in society. Various factors influence teacher
status, covering a variety of contexts, from the global to the national to the
school and the individual teacher. Salaries and working conditions were two
of the most crucial factors found to be strongly linked to teachers’
occupational status. Unfortunately, the status of teachers has declined
dramatically over recent years. Today, in many western countries, the work
of teaching is viewed as less prestigious and less worthy of respect. To
improve education, people must start by listening to teachers, reinventing
the notion of what teaching should be, and elevating teaching to be
considered “prestige brain work” of the most creative and appealing sort.
Surprises
● I was surprised at how meaningful it was to interview Mrs. McGovern
in-person because I was quite hesitant in the beginning about the idea of
this.
● I was surprised that Mrs. McGovern compared teaching to two different
metaphors. Her comments I found to me extremely profound.
● I was surprised that the two of the teachers did not mention anything about
teaching a diverse group of learners as being a more difficult task.
● In the first research article, it mentions that teachers in western oriented
countries are viewed as less worthy of respect. This finding surprised me;
however, it now makes a lot of sense.
Video
● Click the link below!
http://abc7news.com/education/bay-area-teacher-shortage-has-districts-lo
oking-for-alternatives/2298234/
References
Brinkley, L. (2017). Bay Area teacher shortage has districts looking for alternatives ahead of school year. Retrieved from

http://abc7news.com/education/bay-area-teacher-shortage-has-districts-lo

oking-for-alternatives/2298234/

Falla, J. (2013). The low status of teachers: A global epidemic? Retrieved from

https://www.smith.edu/insight/stories/teaching.php

Kalin, J., Čepić, R., & Šteh, B. (2017). The status of teachers and the teaching profession: A study of elementary school

teachers’ perspectives. BCES Conference Books, Vol 15, Pp 59-65 (2017), 59.

Peterson, P. E., West, M. R., & Henderson, M. B. (2014). Teachers Versus the Public: What Americans Think About Schools

and How to Fix Them. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.