Interview Paper

Carrizo Springs High School (CSHS) offers a college prep course for students who

scored below the college readiness benchmark on the STAAR exam indicating the necessity of

remediation when transitioning to college. When redesigning the college readiness course, I

knew it was important to interview the current high school teacher to understand how the course

is currently structured. I also believed that in order to create a course curriculum that resembles

developmental education courses in higher education, I needed to interview someone that teaches

at the college level. Southwest Texas Junior College (SWTJC) offers remedial classes for many

of the graduates from Carrizo Springs who choose to attend community college. SWTJC has also

partnered with CSHS who has a partnership to give credit for the college prep class. This means

that students who complete the college prep course in high school will not be required to take

any remedial courses in college. This partnership is required by house bill 5 as Texas is

attempting to reach their 60x30 initiative which posits by 2030, at least 60 percent of Texans

ages 25-34 will have a certificate or degree. With this in mind I secured interviews with Rosa

Olivarez, the college prep teacher at CSHS and Dr. Aide Escamilla, instructor for the

combination reading and writing developmental course as well as the college readiness course

(COLS 0100) which introduces student success skills such as notetaking strategies and time

management skills. It is important to note that students who fail 2 of the 3 sections on the TSI

test (Texas’ college placement exam) are required to take COLS 0100 in addition to their

remedial courses.

Rosa Olivarez is currently teaching the college prep course at CSHS. She has one college

prep class with seven students. She has taught English in secondary education for over thirty

years. After coming out of retirement she was assigned to teach the college prep English course.
The first alarm bell sounded when I had asked if I could observe her class. Frustrated, she

informed me that there was no point in observing the class because there was no curriculum that

she was following. Currently, students were working on a lab project related to English required

by the high school administration in order to supplant retaking the English 1 and 2 STAAR test

in order for them to graduate. We did however have a two-hour discussion on the issues related

to this college prep course and issues related to student success or lack thereof in high school.

While she shared many pearls of wisdom about the state of literacy and secondary

education, it was not directly related to this topic. However, through her stories of failures on the

part of student performance and administrative pressures to pass students, I was able to ascertain

ideas related to her teaching philosophy and pedagogical choices. First and foremost, Mrs.

Olivarez is dedicated to developing students as whole persons. Their academic performance is

directly related to their emotional and psychological well-being. She takes the time to get to

know about their life outside of school and how that affects their ability to complete the tasks

that are required for graduation. Unfortunately, in her experience students have such traumatic

home lives which include drugs and abuse, they are not capable or prepared to dedicate the

necessary time and energy to complete assignments or study. This results in low student grades

and test scores on benchmark exams that determine college readiness.

Her approach to teaching includes in class activities that allow students to escape from

their reality and show them that she cares about who they are as individuals. By developing

relationships with students, she noted that they try harder to make her proud of their

accomplishments, which granted are very incremental. She also mentioned regarding the college

prep course that she had absolutely no guidance from the high school or SWTJC about

curriculum. There was not textbook or professional development that explained course objectives
or goals. She also soon realized that students who were put into this college prep course were

completely underprepared. Not only were they not ready for college level work, they did not

have the necessary English skills to graduate high school. They could not pass even the most

basic English benchmarks administered in their freshman year of high school. Because there are

no parameters or scores that give her an indication of their English level, she had to revert back

to very basic English tasks such as reading aloud and talking through main ideas, vocabulary,

and grammar. The high school had purchased online reading modules in which she is required to

“babysit” students to ensure they complete assignments. She adamantly believes that this self-

directed learning is not the best way for these students to learn because they do not have the

basic critical thinking skills. For her, you have to give students tasks that they are capable of

completing and holding them accountable for their work. She believes she is fighting a system

that wants student progress to look good on paper even if they aren’t truly learning.

Dr. Aide Escamilla is an instructor at SWTJC that teaches the developmental reading and

writing course (INRW 0300)as well as the college success skills course (COLS 0100). I observed

her class at Southwest Texas Junior college and I also interview her about her teaching strategies.

Through my observations, I noticed that she begins her class by reviewing upcoming

assignments and then discusses what the topic of the day is. She has a PowerPoint presentation

that she uses, not so much as a lecture but as a talking guide for class discussion. She

continuously asks for student examples and observations of their personal experiences,

sometimes calling them by name and other times letting them volunteer ideas. I noticed when she

elicits examples from the class, she waits until someone answers even if there are moments of

silence. She also incorporates videos on YouTube that relate to the topic at hand.
 When I think of both her teaching styles and my own, I see a lot of commonalities. These

are best identified by the Chickering and Gamson (1987) seven principles for good practice.

Specifically, we both believe in developing reciprocity and cooperation among students. Both of

us utilize discussion and projects in class to engage students in conversations. Doing this, I

believe, it gives a chance for the students to contemplate how the concepts they are leaning have

real life applications. Neither of us believe that the instructor should be the sage on the stage, but

rather a guide on the side to allow students to come to their own conclusions about what and how

information is relevant to their lives.

While class was ending, I noticed that a student stayed after class to inform Aide of a

concert he had attended over the break. She took a genuine interest in his life asking questions

about his sister and mother. It was obvious she knew a lot about her student on a personal level

which builds a personal relationship between faculty and students. This was also a principle used

by Chickering and Gamson. In my teaching, I also believe we should take an active interest in

our students. When students know that we care about their well-being they work harder in class

and I believe they allow us to challenge them academically. Through this relationship they feel

more comfortable asking questions in class, emailing, and visiting the instructor before or after

class.

When talking with both Mrs. Olivarez and Dr. Escamilla I realized we all have the same

teaching approaches. We all strive to put the students at the forefront of learning. We all attempt

to make creative and innovative ways to introduce concepts in order to engage students in

learning. I think we all have a good grasp on the capabilities of our students because we take the

time to get to know them, their situations, and their learning styles. It is important for faculty to
utilize technology or whatever means that can reach students. We all feel that a student centered

approach to learning is the best way to help students be successful.