Module 7 Reflection

Going into the interview, I was very nervous and concerned about the flow of the

conversation. What if we get stuck and have nothing more to say? What if we repeat over and

over? What if, what if, what if… I found that once Ms. Eddy and I got into a groove, the

conversation was almost effortless. We talked about her childhood growing up as the daughter of

someone in the military and how that has influenced her as a person and teacher. There was

conversation about the struggle of being a teacher today with the after effects of COVID,

growing pressures from the administration, and keeping up with personal expectations. From this

experience I learned that everyone has a story to tell. Our present and future are influenced by

our past whether that be related to relationships or life experiences.

When reading through the transcript I recognized that there were some themes that kind

of carried throughout. Ms. Eddy and I talked a lot about the intensity of the curriculum compared

to how education used to be. More and more expectations are being placed on children at

growingly younger ages. Kindergarten used to take naps and now those are taken away and

students with very little fine motor skills are expected to hold a pencil and write their name. All

of this rolls over to first, then second grade. Ms. Eddy expressed her concern for her students in

math. This year, they jumped straight into the curriculum like it is intended for, without review

from first grade, and the students seemed very overwhelmed. Ms. Eddy said that if curriculum

continues to intensify, students will continue to fall behind.

Another common theme that was discussed in the interview was pressure that teachers

feel daily. This is pressure from the district, administration, and personal pressure to guide the

students to academic success. In the interview Ms. Eddy said, “You also have pressure of

finishing the whole curriculum before they move to the next grade, because if they don't finish
all the missions before they end second grade, then you have the third-grade teachers asking you,

well, what were you doing?” The pressure to be perfect and prepare each and every student for

the next test, unit, objective, grade is overwhelming to say the least. At the end of the interview

Ms. Eddy shared that she is hopeful that we as educators will figure it out and some pressure will

be released over time.

Throughout the duration of this semester we have focused on critical issues in Early

Childhood Education, so I knew going into the interview that I needed to pay close attention to

any that arised. The most prominent critical issue was the intensity of curriculum. I know this is

a critical issue because it affects three of the four core responsibilities: teachers, children, and

families. Teachers are expected to teach all of the components of the curriculum at an extremely

fast pace, leaving little time for reteaching if the students have not mastered a skill. The children

then fall behind in the curriculum and struggle to catch up, causing them to feel defeated and

most of the time resulting in behavior problems. The parents and families of the students learned

in a different way from that of their children, and often do not understand how to help with

homework, causing more stress on the student. This showed me that there is no shortage of

critical issues in Early Childhood Education.

Before entering Dr. Baumgartner's class, I had never heard the term “oral history.” After

completing the Oral History Project, I have a newfound understanding of its meaning and the

power of a story. A large part of collecting someone's oral history is the interview. Through the

interview that was narrated by Ms. Eddy, I learned a lot about her personal life and how it

influences her as a teacher. She mentioned in the interview that moving around a lot as a kid has

affected her relationships with her children and she has to work extra hard to make those

connections with students. Collecting the oral history of teachers in Early Childhood Education
is so important because there aren't very many accounts of their insight out there. Giving them a

voice is so important to informing others and hopefully fix some problems within the field.

Through this work, a community need was met - the need to inform others about what teachers

actually do. There are many common misconceptions about teachers and to serve our educational

community, hardships need to be shared.

For anyone interested in or about to start on the Oral History Project, I have some advice.

First, do not freak out about the interview. It is very natural and nothing to lose sleep over. To

ensure this is true, take the pre-interview seriously. Talk to your teacher-narrator about specific

questions/conversations she would like to talk about and map out the interview. Have these

questions printed out and placed into categories so that you can know what type of questions to

ask when the topic changes. Other than that, enjoy the important work you are doing!
 Biography

Mackenzie Eddy, an Early Childhood Educator in Louisiana, was born in Hampton,

Virginia in 1997. Throughout her life she has moved all across the US each time her father was

stationed in a new place with the United States Military. Ms. Eddy was enrolled in a college in

Missouri for two years before transferring to Louisiana State University to pursue a degree in

Education. She was a part of the Dual Certification Program at LSU that allowed her to graduate

with a certificate in General and Special Education and a Bachelors of Science. She is currently

in her second year of teaching, serving as the general education teacher in a second grade

inclusion classroom at Port Allen Elementary. She has plans to continue her teaching career in

second grade for the foreseeable future.