ISM- INTERVIEW ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

Student Name: Shayne Kearney Period: 6

th

1. For omeone !or"in# in $our %ie&d' (&eae de)ri*e t+e %antaie ,eru rea&itie o% t+e -o*.
(fantasy vs. reality)
Teaching is a difficult position, but the most rewarding one! oming fresh out of college, ! was unaware with how
much behind"the"scenes stuff had to be done. There is so much of collecting paperwor#, collecting money for
things, updating the class website, inputing lesson plans online, hosting parent$teacher conferences. %uring the
school day, ! am &''( there for my #ids to help them learn. !t)s a rule of mine to avoid my des# as much as
possible. !t)s before and after school that my wor# and all these *miscellaneous+ tas#s get completed. ! believe
this also goes along with the fact of time. !n a fantasy world, there would be double the amount of hours in the
day but realistically, it)s all about prioriti,ing and getting comfortable with telling myself *!t)s o#ay if this waits
until tomorrow -not everything has to be done before ! leave tonight+
.. W+at i $our )urrent edu)ationa& &e,e&/ W+at )ontinuin# edu)ation and trainin# are re0uired/
(educational level and re.uirements)
/achelors from the 0niversity of 1isconsin in 2ay of 3'&3 and has teaching licenses in both 1isconsin and
Te4as. 5or this position ! am re.uired to become certified to teach 6S7 (6nglish as a Second 7anguage) students,
as well as training to teach 8ifted and Talented students. There is constant professional development. lear ree#
!S% re.uired 39': credits every 9 years. Te4as 6ducation ;gency re.uires &9' hours every 9 years.
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Printed Name o% Peron
Inter,ie!ed:
Katie Toellner
Ro&e o% Indi,idua&:
<<<2entor <=<<>ther ?rofessional @& <<<>ther ?rofessional @3
P&a)e o% 3uine: %arwin 7. 8ilmore 6lementary
3uine Addre: A993 7eague ity ?ar#way
7eague ity, T= BB9BA
P+one Num*er: 3C&"3CD"6D''
4ate o% Inter,ie!: 5ebruary 39, 3'&D
T$(e o% Inter,ie!: <<< !n ?erson <<< TelephoneE <=<<6mailE
E%ocumentation Fe.uired (;ttach 6"mail to !nterview Gerification ?age)
2. P&eae de)ri*e t+e t$(i)a& da$ to da$ a)ti,itie o% omeone !or"in# in $our %ie&d.
(day"to"day activities)
0sually ! arrive to school anywhere from D9 minutes to & hour before the school day begins. ! use this time to
copy any papers, chec# mailbo4, reply to parent e"mails, tutor students that need e4tra help, or nay other
miscellaneous tas# that comes up. ! begin my day with my homeroom class (39 #ids) and teach Social Studies. ;t
HI'' a.m. students head to bloc# (;rt, 2usic, or ?.6.). ;t HID9 a.m. ! teach Feading and 1riting to my homeroom
class. ;t &&I&9 a.m., they switch and my homeroom heads to Science across the hall and ! get another teacher)s
homeroom class (36 #ids). ! teach the same Feading and 1riting lesson to this class for H' minutes. ;lso ta#es
this class to lunch for A' minutes at &3I&9 p.m. ;t &I39 p.m., they switch for the second time in the day and ! get
another class (3B #ids). ;t AI'' p.m., ! get my homeroom bac# and they pac# up for dismissal. ! always have
dismissal duty (whether it be car riders, ta#ing the buss #iddos to the gym, or helping wal#ers get out the door).
This can last anywhere from &'"3' minutes.
5. 6o! e)ure are $ou in $our )urrent (oition/ W+at do $ou t+in" i t+e %uture o% $our %ie&d/
(Job security)
! feel confident in my position as a teacherK however, secure isn)t the term ! would use to describe myself.
ertainly doesn)t feel li#e !)m going to lose my Job at any minute. ! believe feeling insecure is a good thing" at
least for me! ! love where ! wor# and ! have the mentality that ! always want to prove that ! am worth #eeping
around another year.
5eeling insecure #eeps teachers on their toes. Teaches are lifelong learners and you have to be able to adapt to
meet the need of the #ids. ! can)t e4pect my #ids to fit the curriculum !)m teaching so !)m constantly loo#ing for
ways for the curriculum to meet my #ids) needs. !f you go in thin#ing you are set and secure, teachers can lose the
drive and passion to truly have student"centered teaching.
;s far as the future of teaching, ! believe he world will always need good teachers.
7. W+at i a t$(i)a& 8a,era#e or &o!et to +i#+et9 a&ar$ o% omeone !or"in# in $our %ie&d/
(salary)
lear ree# !S% does a great Job in ma#ing their teachers feel appreciates! ! #now that ! am ma#ing more than
my friends who ! graduated college with because ! am ! a strong district and a state that had the resources to
support education.
:. W+at (otentia& %or #ro!t+ i t+ere in $our %ie&d/
(growth potential)
2any teachers go on to earn 2aster)s degrees in teaching, educational leadership, and counseling. ;dding on
more certificates to your teaching certificate is always an option as well.
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;;;Quetion <-11 !i&& *e )reated *$ t+e ISM tudent.
<. 6o! !ou&d $ou de)ri*e $our t$&e o% tea)+in#/
2y teaching style is one that is &''( focused on my #ids. Sometimes they need a teacher who is able to be silly
with them and some days they need structure. ! often tell them there is a difference between being strict and being
mean. ! don)t ever thin# there is a need to be purposefully mean but ! #now that structure produces an
environment for #ids to be successful.
=. W+en tea)+in#' !+at +a,e $ou %ound t+at !or" in order %or t+e tudent to undertand and #ra( t+e
materia&/
Fepeat, repeat, repeat! ! say L>1 to do a tas# many times before ! actually let them complete it. ! always model
the tas# while !)m repeating e4pectations so that they #now what it should loo# li#e. ! have a list of e4pectations
on the board so they #now there is no room for tal#ing in between tas#s at any point in time. ! always tell them,
*Mou are here to be a learner today!+
There are times when ! will tell them to put their heads down and close their eyes. !)ll say *8ive me one finger is
you are totally lost and we need some practice together. 8ive me two fingers if you feel you could complete the
tas# yourself but still are a little sha#y. 8ive me three fingers if you are ready for 2rs. Toellner to let you loose
and you #now you)ve got this!+ They are always honest and it)s a great way for me to chec# on myself as a
teacher to see how !)m e4plaining something.

>. W+at )+a&&en#e do $ou %a)e or %ind in t+e )&aroom !+en tr$in# to tea)+ $our tudent/
%iscipline is always a challenge. /eing a teacher and a disciplinarian at the same time can be difficult and Just
ta#es practice being better at both at the same time.
11. W+at &earnin# t$&e are (reent in $our )&aroom 8,iua&8(atia&9' aura&8auditor$-mui)a&9' ,er*a&
8&in#uiti)9' (+$i)a& 8"inet+eti)9' &o#i)a& 8mat+emati)a&9' o)ia& 8inter(erona&9' o&itar$ 8intra(erona&9/
! believe all learning styles are present in every classroom. 6ven if a student prefers one learning style, they might
gravitate towards another style when learning something new so ! #now, as a teacher, !)ve got to be able to
communicate in many different ways. ?lus, ! thin# it)s a positive thing to be challenged in new ways. >ne student
may prefer #inesthetic learning but participating in a lesson that involves music is something that is growing them
as a learner.
11. W+at ru&e +a,e $ou eta*&i+ed in t+e )&aroom/
;t the beginning of the year, ! typed out a list of e4pectationsI be respectful, be responsible, and be safe. ! gave A
positive ways ! thin# this should loo# li#e in our classroom. 5or e4ample, being safe loo#s li#eI being aware of
your surroundings, using an inside voice in our classroom and the hallways, and lastly, being a supporter of your
classmates. >nce we tal#ed through what each one meant and modeled with scenarios, all the students signed the
paper. Ne4t, ! had a blan# piece of paper with the .uestion, *1hat e4pectations do you have of a teacher to ensure
we have the best learning each and every day that we canO+ They tal#ed in a class circle about ideas. Some
included, *7eave us positive messages and goals to strive for.+ *%on)t be afraid to punish us because we need to
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learn from our mista#es. etc. They were very thoughtful. 1hen the class could agree on the point, the student who
had the original idea would write it down. ! signed this page at the bottom.
These two papers are hanging up together, side by side, for students to remember that this is a classroom where
their voices matter. !t)s not 2M classroom. !t)s >0F classroom.
1.. 4e)ri*e t+e %ormat $ou ue to de,e&o( a &eon/
6ach lesson has an obJective or T6K behind it that ! need to ma#e sure my students have in their
learning. >ur Feading wor#shop and 1riting wor#shop time loo# very similarI Fead"aloud, mini lesson,
small group wor# time, independent wor# time. 5or this, ! always thin# about my students. 1hat read
aloud can ! use that they would enJoy but still gets my point acrossO 1hat proJect or activity can we be
wor#ing on that is something they would enJoy but still challenge themO !t)s has to be about your
students. !)m not going to have my #ids change to meet the curriculum. !)m going to have the
curriculum change to meet the needs of my #ids.
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Quetion to t+e Student: 8Somet+in# to )onider?9
1hat information from this interview will you select for your P page typed,
bulleted list of research informationQto be used in your presentationO