Blog 17 - Interview 4 Reflection

This is the woman that I interviewed, Ms. Healy.

Interview #4

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?
• When conducting my interview I learned that into every person that I interview will give as much information as I like and that if I really need an answer to my questions then I need to be persistent. Besides that, I learned that the school district is heavily involved in the hiring of new teachers as well as the disciplinary action that takes place against students.
2. How will what I learned affect my final lesson?
• The information that I got from this interview will affect my final lesson because this has given me another answer to my essential question. I know that for out final lesson we are required to present three answers but I am now able to show that I have developed another answer. 

Blog 20: Interview 4 Prep

Ready for this interview!!! (Kinda, not really.)

1. Who do you plan to interview? What is this person's area of expertise?
1. For my fourth interview I plan to interview the superintendent of the Rowland Unified School District, Ms. Teresa Healy. She is obviously experienced because she has been the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the Rowland and Barstow School district, she has  worker as the Coordinated Curriculum of Instruction and Technology for the Hesperia Unified School District. She specializes in the management of the schools in the entire Rowland area. If I am unable to interview her then I will interview a middle school principal or an elementary principal. 
2. Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. 
1. How did you become a superintendent?
2. What is something you have learned from each step in your career?
3. What makes this job interesting to  you?
4. What is the most important skill a superintendent must have?
5. What is you philosophy of on delegating authority?
6. How do you maintain authority?
7. What influence does a school district have on the standards that will be taught to students?
8. What is used to indicate that a teacher is not properly meeting the expectations set?
9. How are the results from the standardized test used?
10. What effect do they have on a student?
11. If any standards are not met then how does the school district ensure that the students are being taught proper standards?
12. What plans have you implemented to improve the graduation rate for students that come form a lower socioeconomic background and for students with disabilities?
13. In the area of student discipline, what is your position on zero tolerance policies?
14. Do you believe a school district has responsibility for improving the instructional effectiveness of its teachers?
15. How are teacher normally hired for their position?
16. How would you orient new administrative staff members, teachers, and board members to the position?
17. In the hiring procedure what is the role of the teaching staff, principals, and superintendent?
18. Is there anything special that the interviewers look for in a possible teacher besides their education and credentials?
19.  How do you oversee the entire Rowland Unified School District?(What does you position entail?)
20. Have you ever used the Robert's Rule for the conduction of meetings and decision making, and if so, when or what did you use it for?
21. What is the most important grade during a students academic career?

Blog 17 - Interview 3 Reflection

Here is a picture of Mr. Yousef, the principal of Nogales High School.

Link to Interview #3 
Link to Interview #3 Transcription

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?
• While I was interviewing Mr. Yousef not only was I asking him questions but I was also paying attention to his body language and the tone of his voice. From those two things I could really tell that he was passionate about his job and that he also cared for the students. I think teaching can be a very rewarding job, but in order to be successful you must want to do your job in order to do it greatly. Mr. Yousef has been recognized by the Rowland Unified School District for his outstanding changes in the high school and I believe that was only possible because he wanted to do the job. I learned that in order to be good at something you must be passionate about it.
2. How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?
• At the beginning of the senior project I didn't see the interviews as something I could benefit from, and I thought it was a waste of time. After this interview I feel as if I had a better experience with talking to people and interacting because it is more personal that it seems. This interview has really opened my eyes as to what the interviews are really meant for.

Blog 14: Third Interview Preparation

For this interview you will prepare 10 open-ended questions that focus on your newly approved EQ (in fact, your first question can be your EQ.) Remember, all interviews must be done in person unless they are specifically approved by your house teacher. Additional, one person may be interviews a maximum of two times.

Just my uncle and I having a casual conversation.

My Essential Question: What method is best for a high school teacher to ensure that her students comprehend the material?

1. Who do you plan to interview? What is this person's area of expertise?
• For my third interview I plan on interviewing my uncle, Mr. Yousef Nasouf,  who is the principal at Nogales High School. 
2. Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule and interview. What is the date and time of the interview?
• The date of my interview in January 21, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.
3. Phrase an open-ended  question that will help you find research resources that would help you answer your EQ.
• In order to find more answers to my essential question, (What method is best for a high school teacher to ensure that her students comprehend the material?) what types of research would your recommend I find?
4. Phrase an open-ended question that will help you think about other useful activities you might do to help you answer the EQ (IC2, possible experts to talk to , etc). 
• In order to expand upon my answers to my essential question what activities do you suggest I do?
5. Phrase two open-ended  questions that help you understands your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ.
• What influenced you decision on becoming a high school principal rather than an elementary one?
•  Every student has different learning capabilities, in what way do you think teachers can best accommodate their needs. 

Blog 10: Interview 2 Reflection

 Here is the link to my second interview: Interview #2

And if you don't feel like listening you can read my transcription. :)

1. Please explain how you're spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else? Are you shadowing? Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic? If so, what? Are there other people who are experts in the location? Etc...)

-I have been mentoring at Nogales high school with a history teacher named Miss Hidalgo. When I am at my mentorship I usually grade papers, converse with my mentor, look over lesson plans with her, and observe her teaching methods. Everything that I have done at my mentorship is related to my topic so it's beneficial to my research and I enjoy doing the tasks assigned. There are other teachers at the school I could possibly mentor with but my current mentor was the most willing to take on the responsibility of an extra high school student.

2. How did you find your mentor? How did you convince this person to help you?

- I found my mentor by sending emails to the different schools in my area. The email consisted of information about iPoly's senior project and my topic. I stated that I needed someone to help me gain a better understanding for teaching and to commit to helping me for about 60 hours in total. I didn't really have to persuade anyone into helping me I just asked and they either email me back or they didn't and that's how I found my mentor. 

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship? How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person?

-At this point am I mentorship I've had the ability to form a relationship with the person I'm working with. On a scale of 1-10 I would rate my relationship with my mentor at a 7, pretty chill but also serious. I've gotten comfortable with my mentor to the point where I can ask questions without feeling awkward or scared to do so. My mentor has told me about her past and what it was like for her in high school and I've also told her about some impactful experiences that I've had, so it's giving me the opportunity to form a bond. Every Tuesday and Thursday I go to mentorship   for two hours unless something comes up. This has given me the ability to create a relationship because of the large amount of time that I've spent with my mentor.

4. What went well in this interview? Why do you think so? What do you still need to improve? How do you know? How will you go about it?

-The best part of my interview was he answers that I was receiving from questions that I was asking. I thought this was the best aspect of my interview because I had prepped my mentor with the questions that I was going to ask her so that way she could prepare herself for the type of answers she would provide me with. However I still need to improve on my awkwardness, I didn't really know when my mentor was done talking so I felt like I was cutting her off at some points in the interview. During my interview I felt a little weird when I would start to ask a follow-up question but then she still had more to say about the previous question and that's what made me feel a little awkward. This conflict is more of a social problem, so I'm just going to have to learn when it is my turn to speak. 

Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

Lol, so I couldn't find a picture of my mentor but when I did a Google search for her this picture came up. This is what she almost looks like. (:

1. Who is your mentor and where do they work?

• My mentor's name is Monica Hidalgo who is a high school teacher at Nogales High School. she teachers 10tha and 12th grade hsitiry and previously taught English. She has reciveid her education from UC Irvine, UC San Diego, and Cal State Long Beach.Ms. Hidalgo's life-long goals are to constantly develop her Teaching and knowledge of history.

2. What five questions will you ask them about their back ground?

• How long and where have you been teaching?
• What inspired you to become an educator?
• What were the different experiences that shaped your teaching style?
• In the past, have you ever thought that teaching high school was not the right path for you? When did you have that thought, and what made you stick to teaching?
• What have you found to be the most challenging aspect of teaching in terms of classroom management? 

Click on the link to go to my mentors page on her school website. Ms. Hidalgo

Blog 5: Interview 1 Reflection

Here is a picture of my little sister who is barely starting pre school. My younger siblings had the advantage of having me as an older sister because I was able to teach them and help them develop into young ladies

Interview #1 Link

1. What is the most important thing I've learned from this interview?
• The most important thing I have learned from my interview was that education starts at the very beginning of a child's life though multiple ways of instruction. Although they may learn from the very beginning it does not mean that each child will learn from the same style of teaching or progress at the same rate as others. Some children may excel, and the other children may struggle a little more than usual, which is what makes learning such a strenuous task. Teaching is not a form of work where you can teach a lesson one the, each individual child learns through various ways so it is impossible to teach the same every time. 

1. Did I get additional resources and contacts? What is the most useful? Why?
• After the interview I asked my interviewee for some additional contacts of people that would be willing to give me an interview in different grade levels. The most useful contacts that I had gotten were members of the Rowland Unified School District, these were the most important to me because they have more experience and experience with multiple grade levels as well as an extensive educational background.
2. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me?
1. My interviewee was qualified to help me with my senior topic, High School Education, because the foundation of knowledge begins in pre school. Good education begins when the children are not in school but rather when they receive an education from pre-primary education, not primary education. Julie Stevens was a pre school teacher who has graduated from college and has experience in the field of child behavior science, this gives her substantial credibility in aid of my senior topic. 

Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview?  Why?
1. I plan to interview my mom for my first interview. At the beginning of my senior project I had completed a small portion of my mentorship with her because she has a background in child education but I later on switched my topic and mentor. Although my senior topic is on high school education she still has an educational background and knowledge on what it is like to teach. I would have interviewed my current mentor but I am saving her for my second interview.
2. What additional questions do you plan to ask?  Ask open-ended questions.  
1. Has there ever been a time where you had thought that teaching was not the right career path for you?
2. What advice would you give to students who aspire to become teachers?
3. How and when did you decide to pursue teaching?
4. What is the most rewarding part about becoming a teacher?
5. What is the biggest lesson that your students have taught you?