Melissa Gresko

EDU 280
11-22-15
Teacher Interview

I observed and interviewed Mrs. Stone. She teaches 2nd grade at

Kesterson Elementary School. She has been a teacher for over 20 years, but
this is her first year ever teaching second grade. Her class consists of 21
students. Of those 21 students 13 are boys and 8 are girls. Theres not a lot
of different ethnic groups in her class 71% are Caucasian, 14% are African
American, 5% are Hispanic, and 10% are of other ethnic groups. Her
classroom is a little crowded she doesnt have a lot of space. There are two
doors to enter into the classroom, one in the back and one on the side wall.
Her desk is in the front of the class close to the white board. She has a chair
in the front with an open area on the rug for the students to gather for
instruction time. She also has a table in the back of the room that she pulls
students aside when a student is having trouble in an area to give him or her
some one on one instruction time. She has the desks arranged two sets of
five on the right side of the classroom and ten desks together on the left side
of the room and one desk off by itself. The walls are decorated with different
posters of what they are learning for an example on the one wall there is
three posters of three hundred sight words so they can refer to it for spelling
and a word bank. On that same wall theres a poster for class rules and
posters that has what is required of them in the morning, afternoon and if
they finish an assignment before the rest of the class which is called fast

finishers. She uses a chart for behavior good or bad the student clips up or
down. On the other wall she has posters one for math on the bridges from 11000 and the other three posters are what is required from them when
writing and what they are working on such as Adjectives, transitions, and
Plots of a story. She refers to these posters a lot so the kids know what to
expect and to answers correctly when asked a questions. One of the
interview questions I asked her was what kind of teaching strategies do you
see (if any) to integrate cultural diversity into your classroom? She answered,
I pull in different type of stories, and novels from different cultures. As we
read these stories/novels, we compare and contrast the cultures with the
students culture. Literature is a great way to integrate cultural diversity. I
saw this while observing her class she picked two stories Cinderella and The
Rough Faced Girl. The story was about a Native American character, and
gave a lot of cultural details in the story. After both stories were read the
students made a Venn diagram and had a class discussion on the similarities
and differences in the two stories. They opened the discussion in class on
different cultural differences and certain traditions Native American have
compared to Cinderella. All students interacted in this discussion. I got a
sense from her classroom that the students are very comfortable with her.
After my observation I got to spend some time with her while the kids
went to lunch and asked her a few more questions. These were the
questions I asked her on multicultural teaching. How does your school
benefit from integrating multicultural education into the classroom? She

replied, By integrating multicultural education in the classroom students are

able to make connection with each other on another level. They are able to
see the similarities and differences they have with other children. It helps
build a community in the classroom. I agree with her that integrating
multicultural education in the classroom helps build a community with the
students and gives them a more understanding of their peers. I also wanted
to know if diversity played a role in shaping her teaching style. If so how?
She said, Sure it has played a role. As a teacher you want all students to
feel comfortable and included in the classroom environment. They need to
know that we are all different yet have similarities as well. At the beginning
of each year I like to really get to know the students and their backgrounds. I
encourage them to find out more about their own culture and family history.
They then are able to share their findings with the class. The more you can
get to know your students each year the better you can teach to their
needs. I really like to know teachers really do care about the importance of
learning the cultural backgrounds of their students. I also wanted to know
what kind of experiences she had in relating with people whose backgrounds
are different of your own? She explained, I have had many experiences with
others that come from a different background then myself. When working in
a building with 50-60 other adults you just have to be professional about all
things. Others may have a different opinion or teaching style than you should
still treat each other with respect. Sometimes different is good because it
gives you another perspective on things. The main thing we have to keep in

mind is being professional and keeping our own views out of our teaching
and work environment. I asked her what kind of cultural activities do you
integrate into your classroom? Her reply, As I just mentioned before I like to
bring literature into the classroom. I also encourage students to learn their
family history and also around the holidays students write and share with
their peers what their family traditions are. It is interesting how differently
some families celebrate the holidays. I use engage NY as one resource to
guide my instructions. This resource has many activities and lessons that
integrate multicultural activities. I will keep in mind this resource so when I
become a teacher I can get guidance in my lesson plans to integrate
multicultural activities. I wanted to know if she had any experience working
with diverse socioeconomic students? Her response was, When teaching I
teach the standards and help students that are struggling. Sometimes my
strugglers are from high socioeconomic backgrounds and sometimes they
are from low. Students will struggle with behavior and academics no matter
what socio-economic background they come from. If you teach to each
students strengths then you know you are doing your job. I agree 100% with
her reply on this question it shouldnt matter what socioeconomic they come
from treat every student as equals and help the kids that need the extra
attention. I wanted to know if she had any experience dealing with a student
who uses derogative, racial slurs. Mrs. Stones replied, This has actually
already occurred twice this year. With the first incident, I pulled the student
to the side and asked if they knew what the racial slur he said meant. He

said he didnt but had heard it on TV I gave him a warning and told him it
was best to avoid saying things that he didnt know the meaning to. I didnt
have a problem with him again. Recently I had another student use a racial
slur and when I asked the same question he said he did understand what he
said. In this case I went straight to my administrator and they took care of it
from there. I was a little surprised that students at this young of age that
already know the meaning of this but you have to be prepared to deal with
any situation as a teacher. We were asked this question in our class and
wanted to know her opinion on it. Do you think standardized tests are
culturally bias? She tells me, Honestly, its been two years since Ive had to
give a standardized test so thats a difficult question to answer. When we use
to give CRTs we werent allowed to look at the tests so even its hard to give
my opinion on. I said close to the same thing when asked this question I
havent been around these tests so I couldnt give my opinion on this matter.
I always like to ask these last two questions for my personal
information because I like to get a since of how people think about
themselves and careers and it gives me an idea of what to expect when I
enter into this profession. What makes you a good teacher? She replies,
Flexibility, willing to change, continuing with my education, love for what I
do, patiencelots of patience, and support of other teachers around me. I
thought these were all great qualities to have as a teacher and that she
realizes what she does and self reflects on her teacher to make her a good
teacher year after year. Whats the hardest thing you had to overcome as a

teacher? She said, Over the past 20 years I have to say my biggest struggle
has been time and patience. Some days there just arent enough hours in the
day to get everything taught. There arent enough hours to get everything
planned and graded. Ive had to learn there is only so much I can do in a day
and the rest can wait until tomorrow. Ive also had to learn that somedays Im
not as patient as I should be with my students. We are teachers we arent
perfect so I try again tomorrow to be more understanding and patient with
my class. I like that she never gives up and retries tomorrow if today didnt
work out the way she wanted. As teachers we have to be able to take the
good with the bad and never take it out on our students. We always have to
be an intentional teacher.
I really enjoyed interviewing and observing Mrs. Stones class. I learned
a lot from her answers and how she taught her class. I wrote down a few
ideas for my classroom when I become a future teacher. Im glad I got to
observe how she integrates multicultural teaching in her classroom. She
gave me a lot of pointers and put some of my anxiety of becoming a teacher
to rest.