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Teacher Interview Assignment
Teacher Interview Assignment
The person I chose to interview was a friend from church, Jennifer Erickson. She was a
graduate of Chico State’s Liberal Studies and Credential program. Currently, she is on maternity
leave but is employed by Chico Unified School District. She teaches kindergarten at McManus
elementary school, she has also taught 2nd and 3rd grade prior. Of the schools in Chico,
McManus is an at-risk, title 1 school. A high majority of the students are eligible for free or
reduced lunch, the student population is high among colored students. The interview consisted of
her classroom management strategies for both kindergarten and the higher grades. Classroom
management for Jenn looked different for the different age levels. One thing that was consistent
She follows a nurtured heart approach and emphasizes praising the students and the
desired behavior she is expecting of them. An example of this for kindergarteners includes:
“Destinee you are doing such a great job following rules, you have your legs crossed and your
mouth is closed. Your eyes are focused on me and you are ready to learn. Wow, Jeremiah, you
are also displaying the correct things for us to learn”. This is a takeaway because praising
students can meet their emotional needs, it allows students to mimic the appropriate behavior and
also gives the teacher a chance to see what students need more praise to get their behavior in
check. She uses more a lovey tone when speaking to the younger students, for the older grades
the language she uses is more hip and relevant to that age. An example of this is, “Girl, you are
rocking this assignment”. The choice of language and tone is important because a 5 year old
would probably not understand what that compliment meant. This also goes back to knowing
your students.
The next thing we discussed were classroom rules. She mentioned that these rules needed
to be repeated multiple times a day. 3-5 rules were the right amount for her class, they also were
similar to the school rules. For example: if you cannot run in the halls, you cannot run in the
classroom. The rules were to never contradict each other because that would result in conflicting
messages. Her rules differed by age group but all grade levels were given posters as a visual
aide. Instead of repeating the rules constantly, she followed a 1-2-3 example. This is described as
3 being on task and 1 being very poor. This is important because telling your students to just stop
will not work, this 1-2-3 example displays the levels of appropriateness.
The last thing that stood out to me was how she implemented seating charts. She had
students in pairs of two, they were paired based on their skill level. One with low-skills and the
other with higher, this allowed students to work together and even boost their partners skills
and/or habits. At the end of each month she had students write down who they wanted to sit by.
They had the option to write who they wanted to sit by, and who they would be more successful
sitting with. This was a concept I never heard about before but I think it allows students to have
I have learned so much from this interview and it is reassuring to hear what actually is
successful and what is not in the classroom. I am hopeful that when I volunteer at the local
schools that I can start forming my classroom management strategies. Leaving the interview, I
did not know what the nurtured heart approach was, but I would like to learn more. I think it
resembles an approach I would like to use. With the classroom rules, I think the 1-2-3 example is
great and would work well. You mentioned that you used a stoplight type object, that would go
hand-in-hand with this approach. What I would do to reinforce classroom rules is to add attention
getters to make students feel good about being on task. Something that I was unsure about was
her method on seating charts. Is it really good to move students each month? Or would it be
better after each unit ended? Overall, I think letting students write down who they want to sit by
gives them involvement in their learning process. I would like to meet with Mrs. Erickson again
to go in depth about these topics. I have learned new things that I can use and add my touch on.
This interview has allowed me to see a classroom through another perspective which I am
grateful for.