Examples of Elementary School Teacher Interviews

Teacher Interview 1: Darren Cline

Biography

Darren Cline is a rare male elementary school teacher. He is currently employed at Cayuga Heights Elementary School in Ithaca, New York, where he teaches the second grade. Darren holds a master's degree in elementary education and a certificate to teach Pre-K to Grade six in the state of New York. Darren has over twenty years experience as a teacher. He initially taught the first grade but he has taught the second grade for the past fifteen years.

Major Challenges

Parent Involvement

According to Darren, the single largest challenge he faces as an instructor is the low level of parental involvement. When asked to elaborate, he explained:

Many parents just don't care about education. They think that high school graduation is the end of the school and the beginning of adult life, which means getting a job and starting a family. We're located near Cornell, an Ivy League university, and they don't even consider college a possibility for their kids.

According to Darren, the lack of interest of local parents in their children's education undermines his ability to teach his students. Many students refuse to do their homework and don't try during class because their parents don't reinforce the need to learn.

Darren further described the division of his students into three groups. The first group is fortunate enough to have parents interested in their education. Many are the children of local teachers or college professors. Their parents are actively involved in the school, at conferences and in the PTA. The second group is composed of poor students. Many come from broken homes and have minimal parental supervision. Darren's attempts to contact these parents are often unsuccessful because the parents are busy working. The third group is mostly middle class students with parents who didn't attend college. Many own local small businesses. These parents can be contacted but are rarely interested in supporting Darren's efforts to teach their children because believe that their own personal success shows that their kids don't need an education to succeed.

Class Size

Class size is another challenge. Budget cuts over the last few years have progressively caused the class size to expand. Darren explained that his average class size was just above twenty when he started teaching. Now, his class is at the legal limit of 32 students. The room is crowded and physical resources are stretched thin.

Satisfaction as an Educator
Student Feedback

Despite the problems noted, Darren says he is happy to be a teacher. The primary reason behind his satisfaction is his students. He loves teaching younger students. While discipline problems do occur, Darren finds his students curious and creative. When parent involvement is low, he tries to serve as a role model to illustrate the benefits of pursuing excellence in education. At the end of the year, Darren is often greeted by appreciative hugs and gifts from students who thank him for his time and effort. The gratitude of a few students are enough to justify Darren's continued involvement in the profession.

Compensation and Schedule

With a smile, Darren admitted that he was initially drawn to teaching by the promise long vacations. He enjoys the freedom of summer vacations and other holidays. The regular schedule gives him time to unwind and deal with the stressors of teaching.

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Teacher Interview 2: Sara Baker

Biography

Sara Baker teaches the fifth grade at Harrison Avenue Elementary School in South Glens Falls, New York. Sara has worked as an elementary school teacher for eight years. She initially taught the sixth grade but she has taught the fifth grade for six of those eight years. She holds a Pre-K to Grade six certification for New York State and recently began her master's degree program.

Major Challenges

Student Discipline

Sara's primary problem is student discipline. She explained:

Students in fifth grade are at a rough age. They aren't quite teenagers yet but their hormones are starting to get active. They're starting to think about sex and starting to challenge boundaries. Some days, it can be really hard to keep everyone in line and focused.

Harrison Avenue Elementary School serves a rural community. Bullying is a serious and persistent problem. Minority and special needs students are often targeted for ridicule.

In addition, over the past few years, Sara has noticed a rise in cyberbullying. Most students bring cell phones to class. Sara has had students start crying in class because of a cruel email or text sent during her lectures. Sara is required to confiscate their phones if students use them to disrupt class. However, following school disciplinary policy has led to several angry confrontations with parents who believe that their children should be allowed to have their cell phones with them during class. Sara complains that parents don't ever think that their children are at fault.

Motivation

Sara confessed to struggling to stay motivated. She entered teaching with a strong positive attitude but in the interview, she acknowledged that she was naive when she entered teaching. Today, several factors contribute to her motivation problems. The first is money. For the work she completes and the hours put in, Sara feels unappreciated and undercompensated. In addition, the student disciplinary problems she noted previous constantly erodes her patience.

Accountability Standards

Sara's continued interest in teaching is also challenged by the standards of the No Child Left Behind Act. Being required to teach students the content of a particular test has made her class curriculum very narrow. She feels like her creativity as an instructor is being diminished because there are many subjects she'd love to introduce to her students but can't because they aren't part of the achievement test requirements.

Satisfaction as an Educator

Administrative Support

Sara complimented her principal and the other members of the school administration team. Professional development support, including tuition reimbursement, is readily available to Sara and the other instructors. Sara knows that she will receive the backing of the administration in student discipline issues.

Collaboration

In addition to the professional support gained from administration, Sara enjoys a very strong and supportive relationship with her fellow teachers. The fifth grade teachers often collaborate on lesson plans. They organize field trips and other activities together. Several other teachers share Sara's enthusiasm for new technologies in the classroom. Sara feels like she is part of a small but dedicated family of educators who want to see their students succeed.

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Personal Response

The interviews with these two teachers highlighted five serious challenges: parental involvement, class size, student discipline, teacher motivation and teacher accountability standards. These challenges are not surprising. The experience of Sara and Darren are shared by teachers around the country. The nation's economic problems have contributed to budgetary shortfalls, contributing to issues like increasing class size and decreased job satisfaction among instructors. In addition, the failure of enhanced teacher accountability to improve student achievement has helped to increase awareness of the importance of parent involvement. The professional success of teachers is influenced by the presence or absence of a home environment that values education.

While I recognize that the development of a solution to these two issues is not easy, I do not feel dissuaded from pursuing a career as a teacher. I remain committed to this career option for two reasons. First of all, I feel strongly motivated to help the neediest students realize the value of education. When Darren explained that the positive response of some of his students was enough to keep him motivated and satisfied, I understood and agreed immediately. If I can positively impact the life of even a few students every year, then my effort will be well spent.

In addition, I am very interested in education policy. I believe that many of the problems identified in the interviews are the result of poor public policy and the government's mismanagement of the public education system. As a teacher, I believe that I can generate positive change by acting as a policy advocate for educational reform. Therefore, while I can see that many different challenges are likely to arise during my work as a teacher, I believe that I can contribute to the development of effective solutions within my school.