Interview Protocol

Teacher

Interviewer:Ashley Fuentes Interviewee:Ms.C

Date: 3-3-2020 Time:8:30
Planning Questions:
1.Do you use the EL Curriculum?
“ Yes we do, it is strange because they adopted for K-3 but we are the only grade that tests for the
EOG’s so we have to be mindful of making sure everything is comprehensively covered. This is why we do
a second literacy block throughout the day”.
2. During this school year do you have any students with special accommodations?
“ Yes, I have two ELL students one student is from Syria and he has been here for two years and the
other student is Spanish speaking and they have been in the U.S since kindergarten. I also have three EC
students. One of the students has a lot of deficents, she can barely hold counting after 20, her reading
level is at beginning kindergarten and it has been that way for years. And then I have two that are just
EC with reading and reading comprehension. They are reading at the end of first grade beginning of 2nd
grade level so sometimes they can access the text we are using but they need some support with the
comprehension work.
3. How are students with special accomodations supported during classroom exams and state exams?
“ With math students all have read alouds, so all of their problems can be read aloud to them or if it
is a computerized test it can be read aloud using headphones. With the reading test because they are
being tested on reading they can’t have the accommodation of read alouds.So they kind of struggle
through and this is kind of the reality of it”.
Instructional Questions:
4.Do you feel like you're in a box because the EL Curriculum is so scripted or is it more helpful to you as
a teacher?
“ I know the feedback from a lot of schools is that it’s boxed and scripted. But we are lucky
because our school trusts us to take it and teach it the way it should be but also they give us the
freedom to do other things with it. So we're giving them what they need and then following that
lesson if we think something can be condensed or pushed together so we can have more time to
teach them what we know what they need. Especially with testing season, we are able to do
that and we also carved out another block for literacy. I think the box in and scripted thing
comes from schools that their principal or administrators do not let teachers deviate from the
script at all with us they do give us some freedom”.

5.What are some things you have learned throughout your profession?
​“ You have to be adaptable and flexible because things can change at the drop of a hat and you
can’t get frustrated. My biggest thing is your relationship with your students is crucial and your
relationship with each set of kids is different. It takes a little time to get to know your students and get
your feet on the ground with that. I also think it is important to go after what you want if you have
personal goals like moving up then go after what you want.
Classroom Management Questions:
6..How do you manage your classroom behavior?
“ Our school does Dojo so they get positive and negative points and this is schoolwide. For the second
quarter we went down to the school store and they get $1 for every 20 points they earn. So they get little
trickents but they like and think it’s really fun.
7. How do you motivate your students?
“ At this point in the year you hope you have built relationships with your students so they are
intrinsically motivated. And a lot of that is goal setting for them, a lot of them have realized through
different checks where they are and where realistic goals are for them. So we are at this point where
they have the goals written down and taped to their desks and we track them every 6 days.

8.How do you make sure your students are the rules?

​ “ You just have to follow through with what you say, if you say you're going to call their parent then
do so or if you say your going to give them a referral then do your best to follow through and sometimes
is just talking to that student one on one and getting down to their level which I do a lot. And showing
them that you're human by saying things like I’m disappointed or you hurt me when you did such and
such. At this age they still want to please you as the teacher but they also want to be their own little
person”.
Using the interview as context I was able to actually see the classroom and school I was in, it

gave me a different perspective. In my CE’s classroom I observed a very organized and

structured classroom. There wasn’t much time wasted. Behavioral wise students seem to respect

Ms.C and the 1 or 2 that were having a bad day.Ms.C would usually take them out in the hall to

discuss the situation with them. During Whole Class instruction she would call them to the carpet

and allow them to work in partners and groups which the students really enjoyed and all the

students wanted to participate.

From my time at the school I saw a strong community presence in the classroom and also

saw with the teachers during planning. They seem to really get along with one another not just as

coworkers but as friends and have a passion for their students well being. I didn’t ever see any of

the teachers yell or get angry at a student. I saw a lot of respect between teachers and between

their students. Throughout the interview Ms. C stated how she hoped she had built strong enough

relationships where students were intrinsically motivated. I asked my CE why she would call her

students down to the carpet instead of teaching them from their desk and she responded that

students were less likely to be distracted from things or classmates and instead students felt a

more intimate instructional lesson. Especially when they could work with others and speak their

opinion, I really thought it was something small but it made a difference in the classroom

dynamics.

Throughout the interview I like how Ms.C stated it is important to build relationships and

build connections with your students. It made me think back to all the times teachers or

substitutes would just walk into a classroom and expect for students to respect them when they

themselves did not respect the student. As a future teacher I hope to not just be an authority
figure but a mentor and advocate to my students. When I asked about states exams and

classroom exams Ms. C stated how students had accommodations for math but no

accommodations for reading. I found this to be unfair because this kind of thing just leaves a

student to fail. I would have thought by now they would come up with a different way to test

students and or or rid of exams that really don’t test who your student is.

Ms. C stated that she learned the importance of pursuing your goals, this made her think

about the fact teachers juggle many hats from not just teachers but counselors,parents, friends, to

just following the district or school regulations. There are so many pressures especially for the

grades that get tested that you can easily get overwhelmed and put yourself on the back burner. I

want to be a future teacher that not only does good for the students but does some good for

themselves whether that be from taking a mental health dat to pursuing that promotion.