Informational Interview

I decided to interview my high school teacher Mr. Price. The first question I asked him was what his favorite course in college was and if it was in his major. He couldn’t remember the specific name but he said it was a methods course for all students in the college of education. He liked it because it was very student-centered and involved realistic scenarios of challenges that he could face in the classroom. Another course that was more specific to his content was Ancient Greece. He said the teacher was very passionate about the content which made it fun to learn. Then, I asked what he thought the most important skill is for someone in his career. He emphasized the ability to relate to students. He said one of the quotes he likes is – “Student’s don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care”. I asked him for advice he would give to someone who wants to get into this career field. He said to do it because you love it. Even though at times it can be difficult, it’s worth it if you like working with kids. He then talked about his experiences in college after I asked him what kinds of extracurricular things he did and how they benefitted him. He told me that he observed in the classroom his junior and senior years. He also student taught in the spring quarter of his senior year. Outside of school, he worked at a summer camp. These experiences have benefitted him because he got to work with a wide range of kids and adults. Another question I asked was if any special certification, licensing, or advanced degree was required for his job. He said when he was in college he had to take the Praxis (he isn’t sure if this is still around” to get licensed within the state of Ohio. Then he explained how you need continuing education credits throughout your career. He also has a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction and another one in Educational Leadership. Finally, I asked what his favorite part of his job was. He simply put it – “working with kids”.

 

The person I interviewed was my ninth-grade world history teacher and eleventh-grade psychology teacher. I chose to interview him because he was one of my all-time favorite teachers and I have an interest in both of the subjects that he taught. This interview has made me seriously consider teaching as a possible career path. I did not necessarily learn anything unexpected from this interview, however, the interview did reinforce that in order to do this job you have to love working with and be able to relate with kids. I need to learn if there is a way to major in teaching high-school level social studies or history. In the College of Education and Human Ecology, the only options available for teaching high school-level are science, mathematics, and language arts. If there is a way to be able to teach social studies, that would almost definitely help me make a confident decision. The lectures that I attended through the exploration program were extremely helpful in narrowing down majors of interest. They gave a more in-depth description of what the major entails, and how it could or could not be a good fit for me. Also, just the classes I took this semester also helped me an idea of what I was interested in. When I first came to school, I was set on doing something related to medicine. However, after taking chemistry, I realized that I had no interest in it.

Artifacts

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