Veteran Teacher Interview

Brenda Nunez-Lopez

EDUC 2110

Teressa Jackson

3 December 2023
 Description

Mrs. Richardson started her career in 2007 and later returned to school and graduated with her

master's degree in 2009. She describes her teaching career as an amazing job. She first started as an all-

subject teacher for 5th and 4th grade and years later, she became an ESOL teacher and enjoys every day

of it. Mrs. Richardson says, “I love making a difference in the lives of children each and every day. I also

enjoy helping parents make decisions regarding their child's education. Even though I enjoy most days,

sometimes I feel like there's not enough time in the day to do everything that I need to do. It is

overwhelming at times when I cannot finish my to-do list each day.” Her philosophy of education is “to

make each class as interactive as possible. I believe that positive interactions are more memorable for

students. I strive to give my students experiences they can relate with and to activate prior knowledge.

When students can relate with what they are learning, they are more likely to be more successful.”

Interview

The first question asked was “How do you help students experience success?” She explained

that the best way for a student to show success is to be creative and think outside the box. She also said

that students need to experience relevant to their life and oftentimes she uses learning styles to

determine her teaching style. She also states that when teaching she alternates teaching methods based

on the standards. The last thing she mentioned was, “I assist my students in setting achievable goals

based on their achievement levels.” Mrs. Richardson has a way of teaching where her students enjoy

learning from her and contain the information shown. As the interview continued, I asked her what she

would consider important to be put in an open house presentation. She told me that first she starts by

telling parents about her high school and college education. Then she processes to tell them about her

family and teaching experience. One of the most important parts about presenting herself to parents is
telling them about the classroom expectations, also making sure she gives them a way to contact her at

any time of the school year.

As we continued talking, I asked her “How do you challenge slower learners and advanced

learner within the same class.” She told me that differentiation is key when it comes to a situation like

that, then she restated, “We must know our students and then develop tasks that not only meet their

needs, but also stretch them at a level they are ready for.” Therefore, she makes sure that she is helping

each student but challenging them to go beyond their expectations. After asking her those questions I

asked her to describe to me her teaching style and how she accommodates the different learning styles

of the students. She told me that over the 16 years of teaching her style changed to accommodate the

classroom's engagement. She said she uses as interesting materials as possible, such as Google

Classroom, interactive Google Slides, and interactive notebooks to engage her students.

As we were talking about her classroom, I asked her what her classroom rules were. She said she

only has 3 which were “Be safe, Be Respectful” and “Be Responsible” they all have meaning behind

them to make sure all her students are in the right direction. As we continued to talk about her

classroom, I asked her to describe what strategies and techniques she uses to maintain an effective

environment. She said as a teacher it is particularly important to build a relationship with students and

plan ahead of time, and to make sure she knows the learning styles within each of her classes. As we

talked, she said, “Understand my students: I get to know each student as an individual the best that I

can. I strive to build rapport with them based on trust and understanding. I show compassion for each

student through my nonverbal behavior and paraverbal communication.” Mrs. Richardson is an ESOL

teacher, I asked her how she adjusts to the diverse levels of reading in her classroom. She said she uses

flexible grouping, choice boards and giving students meaningful work instead of busywork. Where in her

opinion works perfect to working with students in different reading levels.

 As we were in the middle of the interview, I asked her how her students' behavior in the

classroom if someone were to walk in the classroom at any given day. She responds by saying her

students are actively learning like cooperative or independent learning. All her students are expected to

be respectful to everyone who walks into the classroom. I then continued to ask her what kind of

cooperative learning she uses in her classroom. She said she uses “think-pair-share" which allows her

students to first think independently and then share with a partner before having to share their

thoughts to the class. As I continued from the previous question, I asked her “What kinds of strategies

do you use to challenge students to have an in-depth understanding of mathematics, science, and

English literature?” To which she responds with, “I find creative ways to integrate reading and writing

with math curricula, so that it humanizes the subject matter and allows my students to process

unfamiliar material linguistically. I believe that reading and writing are complex, fundamental,

integrative learning skills that should be used to their full potential in math class. “

We were at the end of the interview when I started asking her personal questions. Such as who

were the 3 people who influenced her the most to go into education. She said that her students are a

daily influence even after her 16 years of teaching. She also mentions that one of her previous teachers

showed her so much care while she was in school and showed her that teaching is extremely rewarding.

The last person was her college professor who taught her the importance of teaching. While we were in

the topic of her education route, I asked her why she chose to become a teacher, which she responded

with, “I have always wanted to be a teacher. I love helping others, especially children. Teaching

student's skills that they will use the rest of their lives brings me so much joy.” At the end of the

interview, she gave me advice if I wanted to go into education, and she said, “If you truly desire a career

in education, do your absolute best to obtain one. Do not listen to negative comments about being a

teacher. Teaching is really rewarding for those of us who have a true passion for it. At the end of the

day, teaching is particularly important to me, and I love the career I have created for myself”