Nathan Ray

Interview with a Novice Teacher

Interview Questions

 How long have you been teaching?

9 months

 How many content areas/grade levels have you taught during that time?

I’ve taught preschoolers, 3rd and 4th graders, and 6th and 7th graders.

 Would you describe your route to certification as traditional or non-traditional?

Non-traditional. I work at an independent education organization focused on STEAM,

and I am not certified.

o Please describe your impressions of your level/degree of program preparedness

o Please describe any areas that you feel your program excelled or proved
inadequate
 Please share your initial teaching philosophy.

The more that subjects can be incorporated into practical, engaging life-skills, the more
likely students are to engage with the subject and believe in their ability to learn it. For
example, teaching students math by applying it to a building project will put it in context
and make it more exciting to them, giving them an incentive to learn.

 Please describe if/how it has morphed over time?

I still believe in my original philosophy, but I know have more insight into how easily
students can be daunted by the prospect of an unfamiliar project. This can make teaching
through applied projects difficult, and I’ve had to learn strategies to avoid having students
give up before we begin. For example, I break the task down into smaller tasks that they
can understand more easily, pinpoint the most difficult steps to demonstrate most
thoroughly, and track how my students react to specific steps.

 Why did you select this particular school/district to teach in?

I chose to work at this organization because it specifically works with underprivileged

and underserved schools around Atlanta. I wanted to be a part of work that helped to
bridge opportunity gaps in education.
 What surprised / troubled you most about your first ~ early years of teaching?

Though I am a great speaker and can make anything sound interesting, I would frequently
put so much energy into the first part of class that I would lose momentum in the middle.
I had to learn how to pace myself and relax while teaching.

 What would you say has been a major "I wish I had been told this when I started
teaching?"

Teaching is not like acting/performing. It involves many overlapping skills, especially

public speaking and engaging an audience, but you have to allow yourself to be a human
being in front of a class, not a character. It’s not a performance, it’s a conversation.

 What would you say is a major "I wish I had learned/been taught" during my teacher
preparation program?

I wish I had been taught that, as a white teacher working with underprivileged kids in
Atlanta, you’re going to encounter racism in yourself. It’s an inevitable part of being
white in America. I wish I had been taught earlier how to examine those moments and
unpack my own mistakes. I eventually did have formal training about this, but not before
I spent plenty of time repressing those thoughts/impulses and pretending they didn’t
exist.

Additionally, I wish I had learned earlier that sometimes students are going through
things that make them unready to be in a classroom at that moment. I wish I had been
taught strategies to help my students as young people, as well as help them as learners.
Obviously, I can’t change their situations or problems, but while they’re in my class, I
want to be able to provide what they need and make my class a flexible learning space.

 What would you like the general public to know about the teaching profession?

It can be the single most influential and single most harmful position in a young person’s
life.

 What do you most enjoy about teaching?

Getting to share the things I love to do with my students.

 What do you find the most draining about teaching?

The need to be completely prepared every single day.

 If you could change one thing about education in the U.S., what would it be?
Honestly, I would redirect 50% of the current military budget into education to be put
toward infrastructure and teacher salaries.
Teaching Philosophy

This teacher absolutely falls into a progressivist teaching philosophy. They are focused
on molding the content to suit the students and on trying to find ways to better deliver the
content to their students.

Analysis of Interview

I find that this teacher and I have a lot in common, especially because we’re both novices,
but especially regarding reconciling the difference in culture between our students and
ourselves. I especially found their discussion of having to combat unconscious
internalized racism particularly relevant to my current situation. I am also a white
teaching in a predominantly African American school, and I understand all too well the
importance of quickly and thoroughly analyzing any prejudiced impulse in my head so
that they do not enter the classroom. It was really helpful to hear that needing to do this
kind of work is actually a good sign, because it means I am recognizing and working
against my implicit bias.

This teacher and I both want our students to experience as much hands-on learning as
possible. While they’re focused on STEAM projects, my work is more focused on
teaching students the practical, hands-on and real-world skills of theater.

We are absolutely both Progressivists, wanting to fit the content to the students rather
than the students to the content. However, I have found some trouble in doing this, as it’s
hard to find a way to teach someone to act if they don’t want to act. This is why I try to
focus on as many different aspects of theater as possible, in order to give my students a
wide range of areas to pursue.

I also have a lot of trouble with managing how much energy I put into my lessons, and I
often end up exhausted by the time my last class shows up.

Synthesis

- Examining your own biases is an important part of the work of teaching.

- I need to find a way to pace myself in my teaching, so I don’t burn out.
- Teaching is far more active and scarier than acting.
- Many of my struggles are shared by other novice teachers.