To: Professor Teisha Vest From: Ivonne Sanchez Subject: COMM 1010-Interview Part 2 Date: September 27, 3013

I chose to interview Miss Kristine Haas, also known as Miss Kris to her students, because where she works is really close to where I live. She works at a high school. I got her email on the high schools website and sent her an email to ask if I could interview her. The school website also had a bell schedule, so I checked her response to my email to see what time she had given me. Luckily she gave it to me when she had a free period. I chose to interview her because of the fact that she teaches young as well as adolescents. At first I only wanted to teach younger children in the preschool range but then I wanted to teach older students as well. Im very close to finishing my generals at SLCC so that I can get started on the childhood education classes that I am required to take. What I would like to include in this memo are some of the important things that Miss Kris responded to the questions that I asked her and my interview analysis. Before starting out with the questions, I made sure that I told her in about a few words what kinds of questions I would be asking her. Your Education Miss Kris mentioned that for the career that she has she obtained a bachelors in family science and a major in circular instruction. Another qualification that is needed for this career is a valid teaching credential. For working in what she is doing right now, she only needed the bachelors in family science. This is very useful to me because I was planning on focusing only on early childhood education. One of the hard things that she had to go through to obtain her career choice was being a single mom and also the science courses were hard. The easiest thing that she did to obtain her degrees was taking the actual teaching classes. Since she was little she has always wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. Starting Out When she began to student teach, she started out in Timpanogos at a junior high here in Utah. I also asked her if she has taught at other schools outside the state and she says she had. She told me that she worked in California. I asked her what differs from there to over here and she told me that at the time, California had stricter teaching requirements. I found this interesting because it thought that most places in the United States had similar credentials that are needed from individuals that want to teach. Miss Kris has been teaching at the high school for six years and

overall, she has been teaching for thirty two years. I find that really impressive because it shows her dedication to her career. High school students and the preschoolers Starting out with this set of questions, I asked her first what goals she has in mind for her students. One goal that she has this year is too make good use of the AIP program which is new this year at the high school. What this program does is give extra time. I guess I could put it as a period where teachers use to talk with and help their students. What she expects from her high school students this year is for them to be responsible and work hard. Some of the memorable things that the young children do is give her hugs, and say funny things. With the older students, the memorable things that occur with them is watching them grow into teacher after they leave the high school. My favorite question that she answered for me was when I asked her to tell me the difference between the young preschoolers and the high school students. Miss Kris thought about it and answered not much and laughed. Though, she did mention that the main difference is the maturity that is seen with these age groups. One thing about the preschool is that there are mainly female teachers in this program. Miss Kris does her best to get males in this program because the little preschool boys really enjoy having male role model they can relate to. Regular day/school year Miss Kris told me that the preschoolers have class on Monday thru Friday from 9:45AM to 12:05PM. A regular day in the preschool consist of activities that help the children learn but also to give them time to play and let out there energy as well as to calm down. With the high school students, she has lectures followed by hands on experiences. She mentions to me that the preschool can get most hectic during the holidays, beginning of the year when the children arrive and at the end of the year for graduation (for preschoolers and the high school students) preparation and when this event takes place. I asked her if she was content with her work hours and pay and she told me that she works many hours for moderate pay. One good point that she made was that she knew that she was not going to end up rich though she likes the outcome of her job.

Closing questions Her response to when it is best to work with children is around the age of sixteen. Something to keep in mind if a person wants to work with children is that some are easy to work with and

some are hard, yet they are unique. With high school aged students she mentions that they need to be given structure, be respected as individuals, and to have expectations for them. The traits that a person needs to have to work with students in these age ranges are to be patient, have organization skills, class management and content knowledge. For a final note, I asked what else she would like to add to this interview about teaching and she said that its a hard job but it is rewarding. Analysis of a Family Science Teacher What this interview helped me with was to get an idea of a career that works with both young children and high schooled aged children. I enjoy the company of these ages because of the youthfulness they make a person feel. What I did for my interview was that I printed my questions to take with me. From taking a variety of classes at SLCC that involve note taking, I was really quick a jotting down important key words to my questions. I would like to say that I did well on taking notes to the questions while listening to Miss Kris. I am fast at writing down answers and can come up with simple abbreviations on the spot for long words that I can later understand. One aspect that I really like about myself is my good memory. I was able to look at the questions and remember other information that she said besides what I was able to write down. Depending on the person that I am interviewing, I can warm up to them fast. I do not have a problem with giving a person an interview. I have a harder time interviewing a person or talking to a person if I am being graded. For example, doing a presentation in front of judges can make me nervous because of the fact that I am being graded and/or evaluated. Some of the things that I feel that I could have changed or do differently about the way that I did my interview is for starters, I should not have used a sheet a paper to jot down my questions. I should have used something that was smaller. Another thing that I would change is what I wore to the interview. I did dress professionally but the trench coat that I had on was a bit too snug and Miss Kris classroom was warm. Though, I did my best not to fidget around. Overall though, I really enjoyed this assignment. It gave me useful information and it was a positive experience than what I thought it would be. Teaching is a career that I will enjoy.

Dear Miss Kris, I really appreciated that you took time out of your schedule to meet with me. I like how you gave me perspective over how your day goes and that even though it can get crazy at times, the work does pay off in the long run. What I specifically like about your career is that you work with both high school and preschool children. I enjoy working with younger children and I would also like to work with high school aged students as well. What really found interesting is when you said that both high school students and preschools have similar ways of behaving the only difference is the maturity. I still go over this response that you gave me and chuckle because I hadnt really noticed it. After interviewing you, I realized that you have a busier schedule than what I had previously thought. I still admire that you chose this career. Thank you again for your time. Sincerely, Ivonne Sanchez