Teacher Interview Project

Teacher Interview Project

Christopher G. Curtis
Ivy Tech Central Indianapolis

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Abstract

In this paper I have interviewed a Miss Cordero, who works in the Indianapolis Public School
setting designed for students at risk of expulsion or other juvenile infractions. This paper is
designed to tell her point of view from inside the school, her own career path leading up to this,
and how her day to day class setting is as well as my view points on her school and the layout of
her teaching status. I will also be adding the interview questions and answers from the time I did
the interview as well. What I have found doing this assignment is that on the surface of teaching
you really are at the behest of the school district when it comes to freedom of teaching subjects
and teaching styles. You also will get a view from a newer teacher who is only 3 years in and the
advice she gives anyone in her place.
Keywords: Curtis, Christopher, Teacher, Project, Cordero, IPS

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Teacher Interview Project

I interviewed Mrs. Kyla Cordero on her profession to teaching and what she could make
of it all in her short tenure. This assignment should accomplish telling her story, her experiences,
what could improve the teaching structure, and what she hopes to accomplish in her teaching
career. Mrs. Cordero went to various colleges including Arizona State for her teaching degree.
She gave birth to a daughter in 2007 during her college tenure and that aided her college career
path due to desiring a working schedule that would coexist with her daughters when she became
the appropriate age to start school. She enrolled into the IPS school system in 2012 and has held
her position for 3 years. During this now current tenure, she has found new respect for the
teachers of the now troubled school system and even has the hopes and dreams that it will turn
itself around in the near future. From her views on Glenda Ritz to the role of privatization in IPS,
she has been able to form her own opinions and truths over the years and will continue as such.
Teacher Responses
When asked to give herself a self-evaluation as a teacher, she commented on always
being there for the students either through educational or even a friendly relationship. She often
tries to being more perspective learning to her students so that they have a more dimensional
learning goal. To her, you are not teaching a subject, but the skills needed to survive in the now
harsh society outside and inside school walls. She decided on teaching early in life through a
high school teacher that made the education she now teaches, which is a mixed form of
Chemistry and Physics, a relative joy and thought provoking course. With the birth of her
daughter she wanted to have a work schedule similar to hers, but to also bring a sense of learning
into her home just for her.

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Teaching doesnt always mean to be in a classroom and teach many children at once, but
to have the understanding of teaching styles throughout your life. Teaching is essential, whoever
it may be for. Onto the theme of essential, I also asked her for the basic essential qualities of a
teacher and her responses deemed both appropriate and well versed for anyone outside and inside
the teaching profession. She states that teachers should make sure that students are always taught
at a higher level than where they are at. Teachers should also be able to transport expert
knowledge into entry level thinking and possess the patience to do so as well as the
understanding that it will either be successful or a failure depending on the student or the
teaching level.
She also understands that teachers go through a rigorous schedule demands and
overtime, but with her school set up she luckily doesnt have to grade papers at home. She does
receive many criticisms in the profession and the unyielding culture flourishes every year, but
she has been able to compensate for that with her understanding of what teaching can and should
be. When it comes to confidentiality in the classroom, Mrs. Cordero always relay sensitive
information to parents regarding a student interaction or even school interventions. She
understands that most of the issues that arrive at school stem from a home situation, and her
school is equipped financially to donate many meals throughout the year to student families as
well as offer a free lunch initiative that goes well into the summer schedule. Her school does
have something called a Parent Involvement Educator, or PIE, that offers job help or homework
assignment help.
She does have the opportunity to do home visits for her students, but opts out every time
due to the time constraints for her daughter, but stresses that any teacher that can do home visits
to do them since thats a gateway to many different cultures and backgrounds. Diversity is still a

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work in progress. Most of the staff are all white, but the student body is multicultural. There is
still initiatives to try and strive to reach out to many cultural backgrounds, such as further
celebrating Black History month or Cinco de Mayo or even incorporating these events into
lesson plans.
Compare/Contrast comments. I sympathize with Mrs. Corderos teaching style and
background. Shes taking a lot of personal life occurrences and utilizing them in her daily
teaching life. If I could really criticize her teaching style from out interview, I would say she
could do a bit more to connect to her students in her classroom. Knowing the situations and
areas her children come from I do see how this could be an even greater challenge to other IPS
teachers and with the challenge of not getting a regular pay raise I empathize with her greatly on
her own efforts alone.
Personal Beliefs about Teaching. Teaching is one of the hardest jobs ever created and is never
appreciated in modern culture. We do not ever sit and think about the countless hours or the
selfless efforts of teachers everywhere, but instead chastise them for their rate of pay or their
summers off work schedule. Teaching isnt bounded by the classroom, but more so is a life
skill built into us all. We are taught even before we get into the classrooms, way even before we
speak our first words as newborns. Teaching is as simple as trial and error. Over time, we as
people have learned how far we can really go and even further we can be pushed. When you are
being taught, you do not see the workings going on behind all the lessons and the lectures. It is
only when you have the chance to do the teaching do you really see just how strenuous it can be,
but how rewarding it is when it is done right.
Reasons for Wanting to Teach. To start I never truly had a desire to teach, let alone even be in a
classroom ever again after graduation. I wanted nothing of the profession, the environment, or

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even its students ever back into my life. Everything I did after graduation was a testament to see
how far I could go without ever even looking at a school entrance again. Upon my graduation, I
found more time to really connect with myself and even to be more available with family. I
quickly became the family sitter meaning I had supervision of nieces and nephews and
sometimes cousins while other adults tended to other activities. I didnt think anything of it, but
the adaption to a younger audience was so second nature that I never thought of it being a needed
skill for teaching at the time. My sister told me at the time that I should look into a daycare or
early elementary job since I was more comfortable with children then I was adults at my many
kitchen jobs I had throughout the last few years. As the years went by, I slowly started to take
thought of what my sister said and agreed to seek employment into early educational jobs like
summer schools and summer camps. I went in for my first interview as a summer camp
counselor and was quickly defeated in less than 4 minutes. What I came away with was that as I
did have the skill set and the behavior needed for younger children, I did not have the
fundamentals needed to accent those skills. This is when teaching became a need for me: I
wanted to be able to have a position to govern my knowledge to anyone able or intent on
listening and understanding.
Conclusions. In conclusion, teaching may not be as luxurious as many other jobs and
sometimes not as rewarding monetary wise, but in itself is the most soul cleansing career choice
when done correct. You will never find a job field that will allow you to never work a day in your
life if you truly love teaching and love to instill any intelligence throughout the day. I know that
Ive finally found the one field of work Ill never have to stray from and from this day forward
will become a champion of teaching. The world has a need for teachers and will always have that
need whether we have vacancies in the teaching sector or every school is filled to the brim.

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Works Cited
Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., & Brizee, A.
(2010, May 5). General format. Retrieved from
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

K.Cordero, Personal Communication, February 10, 2016