classroom management teacher interview

Hello everyone, for my classroom management project I interviewed a teacher who has been teaching for the last twelve years, her name is Adriana Cervantes she teaches history/social studies at the high school level in the city of Chicago. I asked Adriana a series of questions from the list created by my classmates as well as some questions about teaching in an urban area with so much diversity which unfortunately were not caught in the interview (we realized about halfway through that my Ipad had stopped recording). We talked about how culture affects some of her students, some cultures believe it is disrespectful to look an adult in the eye when they are speaking to them. As educators we have to understand and appreciate the diversity we will see in our classrooms. we even touched on the fact that some cultures in her experience Hispanic culture parents tend not to want their daughters to go away to college, but in Adriana's this is to be worked on by the counselor or social worker she is very clear about her position as a teacher and not becoming to involved with her students personally.

     

I asked Adriana about her classroom philosophy and she said "she really wants her students to learn how to think for themselves, not just follow what the media says because it is on the computer or the television or even for them to learn how to form their own opinions even if it is not the same as their peers, family, or someone in authority. I think this is very important because our students need to know and understand how to make choices especially at am 11th and 12th grade level.

I asked her what she thought a well managed classroom looks like she said "I like my students to be engaged in a learning environment and working in groups or have an open discussion about whatever we are learning world or American history." she also mentioned how she does not like to give busy work, because she does not want her students to just memorize facts and regurgitate answers. While working individually is fine for different activities Adriana prefers to have a more engaged class. I think this represents her passion for the content she teaches.

I also asked Adriana about structure in the classroom and if she thinks if it important to strict. Her response was very helpful and I can really appreciate her saying "she thinks of strict more as structure and she stressed importance of structure in the classroom, my students need structure and they need to know I am organized"

In the interview we also talked about how she manages her classroom and how she handles discipline. Adriana said "I do not have really bad kids or students who act out too much in my class I can usually ask them to step out into the hall way and talk with them, but I always make sure I never say "you" I always say I so they do not feel like I am picking on them or that they are the victim" I think this is a great way to handle high school age students because they are in a vulnerable place and they might think she is going to yell at them, but instead she says I feel like you are being disrespectful or I feel this way or that way (depending on the situation or what the student did). The fact is working with teenagers is challenging educators need to have structure in the classroom so that the students know who is in charge in a respectful manner. 

Some of the questions about being a teacher were not all positive responses from Ms. Cervantes but she did express how she loves to teach her content area, She did say teaching is her job and she does not get attached to any of her students. I am not sure how I feel about that but I think that for me personally it would be a challenge not to become almost more like a mentor as well as an educator for my students especially if I have them for the whole school year. 

Adriana teaches most of her lessons from outside resources, which I think is a great way to really inform students, she said she does this because the text books sugar coat a lot of history and she wants he students to learn history from a broader perspective so they can form their own ideas and opinions. 

During the interview I asked Adriana about how she feels about pushing her students and does she let them know what she expects from them. She said yes in the beginning of the school year she makes it very clear what she expects from them as far as their school work and homework is concerned. there is a new procedure within CPS which allows for students to make up missing work or tests, Adriana says CPS is making it so that students will not fail. This implementation is not a good one because as Adriana says we are not teaching the students accountability or real life skills. Adriana said she always sets the standard high it does not matter what she thinks about the student because she said when we push our students they will surprise you. Adriana said I do not like when teachers do not set high standards because they are only depriving their students. I then asked what about students who have a learning disability how does she help them stay a float? Adriana said most often her students with learning disabilities try the hardest and come to her for extra help which she always provides.  

We also talked about the cultural difference in the way she teaches and speaks to her students. She said most definitely there is a difference from her urban city school than if she was teaching in an upscale school with primarily white students. Adriana mentioned that she also went to a CPS school and she can relate to most of her students she feels like she is giving back. 

Adriana is not a religious person and she does teach in a public school so faith does not have a place in her classroom. She also stated that her college education was not very helpful as far as classroom management that is all learned through trial and error. 

This interview was very informative and really helped me to see things a little more clearly as far as working with an older age group.