Construction Module: Interview

Lauren Johndrow, June 12 2020

What is your Area of Interest?

Child Development

Who will you interview?

I will be interviewing my mother who is a preschool director and my friend who has graduated
with a degree in Early Childhood Education.

Interview Questions
Do you think that nature or nurture outweighs the other?
Do you feel that the current school environment aids in child development?
What do you think schools and parents should do to help children have healthy
Development?
How can teachers and parents accommodate children with Autism?

When will your interview take place?

June 14th, 7 pm

Zoom Recording
https://youtu.be/AP9TstlyW8k

https://youtu.be/7P966HVivoc

Zoom Interview Transcript

Hi How are you? So can you tell me a little bit about yourself before we start so I graduated from
Humboldt State University in 2017 with a bachelors of education and I've been working in
multiple different preschools in the past years now so I'll righty ask you if you questions about
the best of your ability and just in your own opinion all right my first question is do you think
that nature or nurture outweighs the other I feel like they go hand-in-hand I feel like you know
and the nature kind of kicks in but I feel like the older you get the more nurturing you have a
need I don't want again nature comes along with it you feel the environment is in child
development or do you think I kind of feel like it goes along with the who is teaching I feel like
the schools do the best they can to implement the curriculum but whoever present curriculums
the best not to say it every school is perfect with the developmental aspects but they try so that
they're OK what do you think should do to help children have a healthy
Well you're with their children for sometimes from our hours a day so I feel like having the
coparent relationship with parents is a very important aspect because we have to be on the same
page you need to talk about what they doing at home versus what they're doing school and in
order to you to help the child you have to communicate with the parents and so I feel that
relationship Question is then and then I have a real how can teachers accommodate children with
Autism is a very broad spectrum so I feel like if teachers were able to one start seeing signs at
younger ages not to say every kid has it but I feel like there's a lot of different it's a broad range
so to narrow it down to who actually has it I feel like you just need to be educated on self to help
the child and help Siegel health resources throughout the districts and throughout the community
that would be very helpful if teachers had maybe like a training class or something to help get it
directed since there's a lot to it versus just social aspects or behavior or a loud sound's or
anything like that

I'm good you just tell me a little bit about yourself your background with working with kids yes
my name is Beth Johndrow I've been a preschool director for 27 years and I have also sit on a
first things first council for first things first the last 10 years and yeah sell for questions for you
just answer them with your who's that nature or nurture hours
I don't like nature nurture outweighs the other eternal success in life depends on their genes in it
also depends on how they are raised and what environments they grow up in and for you is do
you feel like the current school the current school environment is nowhere near where it's to be
children do you have healthy development all the schools have come along way they still don't
have enough on motorcoach
And there is not enough special Ed training for teachers to help with kids who need that extra
support I do think the teachers and schools are working on this and the environment is becoming
with that needs to be in the future going off of that question what do you think any parents could
do for children do you have any tips for when a child becomes a student a parent becomes a
partner both the child and the child's teacher at first
It shipped in the mindset for the parents because now you do have someone else teaching your
child however you need to have a partnership with the teacher for the most part you're the child's
first teacher and you always will be a butt in the in the process of learning you need to have good
communication skills with the teachers and you're going to get feedback sometimes you may not
like the feedback but you have to remember that the best interest is for the child support in and to
become a partner with the teacher is going to be the best for the children to learn
Learned about that teachers accommodate children well to accommodate children with autism
teachers need to take time to get to know each children individuality is every child is different
and if you take the time to get to know what certain things might help them soon as it themselves
or something that you know they might need that extra five minutes to calm their selves down or
near the extra special quiet place to be
But I think the more you get to know the student individualities I think that is going to help that
special need the children with autism or even any behavioral needs in kids because all kids are
different now already well thank you for taking your time out of your day to all right thank you

Summary

The problem I am trying to solve is the lack of knowledge about how to help children develop
and lead a successful life. Some possible solutions could be creating a positive home and school
environments, providing accommodations for children who need them, and training more
teachers to be inclusive in the classroom and curriculum. When I asked about Nature Vs.
Nurture, I was surprised to hear that both participants think that they both go hand in hand rather
than one outweighing the other. Nature Vs. Nurture has been a controversial topic within Child
Development since it was first introduced by Francis Galton. I truly think that nurture can help to
fix nature so I was happy to have a different opinion than mine to make me think more about it.
The second question I asked was if current school environments aid in healthy child
development. The answers I got were mixed. Paige thought that schools do the best they can but
it all depends on the teacher whereas Beth felt more negatively about the school environment. I
then asked for tips on how to help child development. My interviewees both mentioned having
supportive environments and I could not agree more. The last question I asked was specifically
for children with autism and how teachers can accommodate them. Both participants stated that
teachers should learn more about the students in order to know how to help them. I really liked
how they said that every child is different so there is no one-way street to successfully helping
them to be their best selves in life and in school.