Running Head: Teacher Interview Project

Teacher Interview Project

Sebastian Vaughn Brookshire

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Teacher Interview Project
The main key element of this whole teacher interview project was simply made to teach
the student the basic qualities and the different basics of becoming a teacher and how it is really
like to be in that profession. The teacher that we will be interviewing will be Mr. Samuel Fritz
who also just so happens to be my Service Learning Teacher as well, we will be going over
certain aspects from Samuels point of view of becoming a teacher. We will also simply be going
over the comments and responses and then we will be comparing and contrasting them to my
own personal thoughts on teaching. What brings us to our next point on what we will be going
over in this project is simply my reasons for wanting to teach, I will be talking about what
inspired me and what got me motivated to want to become a teacher. Lastly, we will simply be
going over my own personal beliefs about teaching and how important it is to have an education
and how it can impact us as individuals ourselves.

Summary.
With the use of this interview recorded down in a formal essay form, the student will
learn the main key points, aspects, and qualifications of becoming a well-round educational
teacher.
Teachers responses.
When I approached my teacher of choice and told him about this interview he kindly
accepted my offer to do one and just from listening to his deep responses I definitely learned a
lot from listening to his wise answers in response. One of the first questions I asked Samuel was
simply why he decided to teach and his response was because he wanted to simply motivate the
children in the band to become motivated when it comes to music. Samuel also told me that the

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feeling of excitement goes through him when he finally realizes that his students finally made it
to the aha-moment in which he calls this starting them off. The next question that I asked
Samuel was simply how many years has he been teaching and what grade levels he taught and he
told me that he has been teaching for 18 years and he has taught middle through high school.
Another thing that me and Samuel went over was the main essential qualifications teachers
should have on the job and his response was simply patience. We also went over the personal
demands in which the profession had on Mr. Fritz in general and the response he gave me was
that his profession was a taxing profession and that you have to always be on your toes. Mr.
Fritz also went over the aspects of maintaining confidentiality and liability issues within the
classroom and when dealing with the parents and he said that he is a very careful person when it
comes to publicizing things and that he likes to keep his communication separate. When it came
to my next question for Samuel, I simply asked for his viewpoints on supporting the family of his
students in their home lives and his response was that its important to not just give things to
students and to let the parents know as well. He also explained to me that he realizes that the
parents care for their kids and they arent meaning to be difficult, they just want to know about
their children. Another thing that Mr. Fritz told me was to develop relationships with parents
early because its always good to make those connections at the beginning. Another thing that I
asked Sam was about the role in diversity being played within the school and in the educations
national scale and he said that Center Grove Middle School Central is non-diverse and that if the
school was more diverse it would be much better for the school itself. The last question I went
over with Mr. Fritz was his development with the family teacher partnership and that if the
approach varied from families that were from a different cultural background and he told me that

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there does come a time in his career where he deals with it every now and then but it is usually a
rare occurrence.
Compare/contrast comments.
When it came to Samuels responses to the questions, I believe that he made some really
good points and that he really knew his profession well. One of the responses that I really liked
was the one about patience and how it really pays off to the classroom, I would definitely accept
this quality for me to use in a classroom because it plays a big role to the world of teaching, it
also saves you from a lot of stress. Another thing that I really enjoyed listening from Sam was
his perspective of the parents and how they just want know about their kids, he also makes a
good point by saying that it is good to make relations with the parents early. I for one accept this
response for being a good qualification to have for being a teacher because it is always good to
make those beginning connections early to people anyways and for a teacher I believe it will help
tremendously. Another point that Sam mentioned was about the role of diversity that was being
played in the school and his response was that if the school was more diverse it would be good
for the school. I personally believe that this can be a good way to improve our school because I
simply think that if Center Grove was a diverse school it would definitely gain more media
attention and that would make our school seem more effective. Another thing that me and Sam
went over was about the confidentiality and reliability issues, he told me that you had to be a
careful when it came to publicizing yourself and that it was always a good idea to keep your
communication separate. When it comes to publicizing yourself I believe that you should always
be cautious with your surroundings when it comes to certain things in society and Mr. Fritz has
done a really good job when it came to explaining that. If I were a teacher I would definitely be
keeping my communication separate because once you post certain things on the internet, its up

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forever and you can never take those kind of things down. One of the other things that me and
Mr. Fritz discussed was the essential qualifications and what the personal demands of the
profession have on him as a person in general. In response to the question, Samuel told me that
his profession was a taxing profession and that you had to always be on your toes when it came
to managing the class. Samuel also told me that it was hard to separate himself from some of the
students home lives because you cannot control the things that go on at home. I for one,
absolutely agree with Samuels response when it came to the childrens home lives, I will always
care for my students but you have to accept the fact that there is nothing you can do when it
comes to the childrens home life.
Reasons for wanting to teach.
One of the main reasons why I want to teach is simply because I didnt realize how much
kids need education in order to make a living for themselves in the real society. After about a
year of thinking I realized how much education is truly important and I want to express that to
the other children and hopefully influence the young souls of the new generation.
Personal beliefs about teaching.
When it comes to my own personal beliefs on teaching, I believe that more kids need to
know that education is important and that you need it in order to be stable in society. When it
comes to being a teacher, I believe that having clear objectives is a huge quality to have when
your teaching, it is also a good way to organize your lesson plans as a teacher. Christine Harper
explains to us that students, particularly teenagers, perform best when they understand what is
expected of them (Harper 2013). I also believe that being consistent is a key role in being a
teacher as well, keeping a steady routine keeps the students in line. Christine Harper also says
that Adolescents tend to perform best when they have a consistent set of expectations to meet

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(Harper 2013). I also believe that feedback is another key role in being a teacher, feedback is
everything weather its for questions, answers. Dr. Allen Mendler explains to us the idea of
having a conference time where students can schedule a time to talk to you is a good way of
knowing feedback (Mendler 2014).

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References
Harper, Christine. "Top 10 Traits of a Secondary Education Teacher." Christine. Harper. Saint
Joseph's University, 24 June 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.
Harper, Christine. "Top 10 Traits of a Secondary Education Teacher." Christine. Harper.
Saint Joseph's University, 24 June 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.
Mendler, Allen, Dr. "4 Early-Year Keys for Effective Classroom Discipline."Edutopia.
N.p., 11 Sept. 2014. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.

Teacher Interview Transcripts

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Me: Hello again Sam, I am so glad we have the time to finally sit down and do this
interview, how are you?
Mr. Fritz: Hello again Sebastian, I have been well I am glad we can have the time to
do this interview as well, we will learn something for sure. Fire away whenever
youre ready to give your questions.
Me: Alright, so Mr. Fritz, why was it that you wanted to start teaching?
Mr. Fritz: Well, I just wanted to motivate students in my band and I want them to
become motivated when it comes to music; I find absolute pleasure whenever the
child reaches the aha moment, it is a true symbol of accomplishment, it starts them
off.
My middle school band teacher influenced me to become who I am; I was also
heavily inspired when I joined the 8th grade band camp where I won second place for
best saxophone solo: that absolutely made my day.
Me: I see, well Sam that was a well-spoken response.
Mr. Fritz: Thank you, is there any more questions?
Me: Why yes, how many years have you been teaching and what grade levels have
you thought so far?
Mr. Fritz: I have been teaching for about 18 years and I have taught middle school
through high school.
Me: Nice! So what are the main essential qualifications teachers should have on
the job?
Mr. Fritz: When it comes to dealing with all of the students, I would have to say
patience because it takes a lot to be able to handle that many children.
It takes a lot of training and heart to deal with a plentiful of kids, you have to to
care about your students and you should keep an open mind and block any
prejudice thoughts. I know its rather easy to fall into prejudice thinking but Im
telling you it will definitely not be tolerated at your workplace.
Me: Hahaha I wouldnt doubt it but yeah I can totally understand how easy it is to
fall into prejudice thinking.... So what are usually the personal demands this
profession has on you?
Mr. Fritz: First off, teaching music is a taking profession which considers you to
always be on your toes at all times.
Me: Dang Samuel that sounds intensive.
Mr. Fritz: Yeah its more than what it actual seems but it can get stressful at times,
thats why its always good to keep a positive attitude in order to maintain your
stability in this profession. So do you have any more questions for me Sebastian?

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Me: Yes, when it comes to the aspects of maintaining confidentiality and liability
issues within the classroom and parents? How do you keep this all in order?
Mr. Fritz: When it comes to my communication within my classroom and with the
parents, I like to keep my communication separate; I have separate emails and a
separate work phone.
Me: I absolutely agree with you there Sam, a well point made out I couldnt have
said so better myself.
Mr. Fritz: Ha-ha Im glad you see it my way, now is there any more questions you
would like to ask me?
Me: Ah yes, what are your viewpoints on supporting the family of your students
home lives?
Mr. Fritz: Well first off, Its important to not just give students things but its also
good to let the parents know as well because parents want to know about their kids
and how they do in school. Parents arent meaning to be difficult at all, they just
want to know about their kids thats all.
It is also a very great idea to develop good relationships with parents in the
beginning so you can maintain a pleasurable and suitable credibility and it will make
you look good and professional and it is always good to make those connections.
Me: I can totally see where you are coming from Sam, well said.
Mr. Fritz: Thank you, now is there any more questions Seb?
Me: Yes, what do you think the role in diversity and how do you think that is being
played within the school and in the educations national scale?
Mr. Fritz: Center Grove is known to be non-diverse but if the school were more
diverse, I could definitely see it being a positive thing for our school.
Me: I couldnt agree more with you Samuel. My final question is on the
development with the family teacher partnership and if your approach varies from
the different cultural backgrounds between certain families?
Mr. Fritz: Well, there does come a time where I deal with it, its every now and then
but usually its a rare occurrence where I get something like that.
Me: Alright, well I truly thank you for going out of the way to do this interview with
me Sam; I sure definitely learned something from this session, Thank you.
Mr. Fritz: You are more than welcome Sebastian, good luck on your college
experience and your future career.
Me: Thank you once again for the kind words.

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