Participant Z: hey i'm here
Sent at 1:29 PM on Wednesday
me: Hi there! Thank you
for taking the time to do this interview and for participating!
Participant Z: np!
me: To start, I would
like to ask you some general information. Can you tell me a little bit about
yourself?
Sent at 1:30 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: I'm 29
years old, studying to be a k-5 bilingual education teacher. I am mexican but
have been living in NJ since I was 6. I worked as a paralegal for 5 years
before deciding to go back to school and be a teacher
Sent at 1:31 PM on Wednesday
me: That's great-
welcome back! What inspired you to come back to school?
Sent at 1:32 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: I wanted
to become teacher. My job as a paralegal was not rewarding although I was confortable
financially
Sent at 1:33 PM on Wednesday
me: Well, I'm glad you
chose the route that would be most comfortable to you, and I'm sure you will be
a great teacher! You said you've lived here since you were 6. How was life in
Mexico and how would your upbringing was?
Sent at 1:35 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: I went to
private schools. Both of my parents were teachers there. (comes from a family of teachers) I had a normal
childhood, nothing different than here
me: Was it difficult for
you to come here at age 6 with the cultural difference? (assumption on my end that it would perhaps be difficult)
Sent at 1:39 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: Ummm not
really. I knew some english and I was placed in a bilingual classroom. The
teacher taught half in spanish and half in english from what I remember. It
wasn't like I couldn't speak with anymore. I think it was a smooth transition.
me: That's wonderful!
How were your teachers throughout Elementary school?
Sent at 1:41 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: I liked
some better than others. I did not like my 2nd grade teacher at all. Looking
back, I did learn a lot from her because she was militant (despite feelings-tried to make a positive comment about her)
but I always had the feeling that she did not like me (what
provoked these feelings?). I later found out that she did not want me in
her classroom (how were assumptions of teacher “not
liking her” confirmed/found out?) and had suggested i'd be put in the 1st level
bilinugal class (assumption on teachers end that student
wasn’t capable before even testing her) but when I took the English
test, I scored higher
so my skills placed me in the 2nd level bilingual.
me: That's interesting.
Why did you sense she did not like you? Was this second grade teacher a general
ed teacher or a bilingual teacher?
Participant Z: I
remember one time she accused
me of cheating (was this accusation immediately
direct and or in front of other studnets?) And made a snarky remark
about how my parents were both teachers. (1st
example of her not liking the fact that her parents were teachers) My
3rd and 4th were great. It was ...
she was a bilingual teacher
3rd and 4th were also within the
bilingual prog but they actually did not speak english
me: Accused you of
cheating? So it was clear at that point that your theory of her not liking you was probably true
Participant Z: yeah, and
if I had cheated and had gotten caught, yeah it would have sucked and all but
at the age, to be accused of it and you didn't do it...it sticks with you. If
funny how i remeber that but not other things (recalled
info from such a long time ago; negative experience stuck with her)
Sent at 1:46 PM on Wednesday
me: Well, it definitely
impacted you. What was the end result with this teacher? Did she figure out
that her accusation was false and did she apologize? How did your relationship
with her impact the remainder of the year?
Sent at 1:48 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: She
didn't believe me. So we had these spelling test on a weekly basis I think, so
I was practicing one word that i kept getting wrong, and I wrote it on a paper
like 5 times to practice and then i crumbled it and put it in my desk. Those
desk that you can put stuff under them. And mine was a mess. I mean full of
books, papers, pencils etc...they were all a mess. Anyways I did that one day
and forgot about it. The day of the test we were done or almost done and she
walks by and says whats the paper? and I was like idk...I didn't remember it
had been days before. So she took it opened it and was like oh so you cheated?
and I was no, that was old. (didn’t want to make it a
point to hear student out; let her own feeling cloud her judgment) And I
think she called my mom, but thank god she believed me. And when I told my mom
what she said about them being teachers I remeber she didn't like it. It was
something along he line of "oh look you're cheating and your parents are teachers (2nd example of teacher not liking that student had
teachers for parents. Perhaps she felt like she was getting “special
treatment?) I didn't feel comfortable from there on. I don't remember
anything else as dramatic as that but I was glad when the year was over
Sent at 1:53 PM on Wednesday
me: Well, I'm sorry that
happened to you. I'm sure as an adult now and the fact that you're going to
become a teacher, you could look back and say "well I would of handled
that differently"
Do you remember this teachers
ethnicity background?
Participant Z: she was
hispanic. Either puerto rican or cuban. (teacher was of
Hispanic race as well- what was the issue?)
Sent at 1:56 PM on Wednesday
me: Interesting... . Do
you remember any other negative experiences you've had with a teacher that
stuck with you as this one?
Sent at 1:59 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: Ummmm let
me think....I know that my 5th grade teacher made comments to the class that I
still remember bc somehow
I felt like he was talking about me.(another
experience of feeling like the teacher was talking about her and or didn’t like
her- what was provoking it?) This was the year that I moved from Perth
Amboy to Highland Park (move from towns was more
difficult than move from countries) At HP there wasn't a bilingual
program so i was put into a general
ed classroom. So he would say things like, some of you don't belong in
this class.(teacher not welcoming of different students
being placed in his general ed class) There were 4 5th grade classes, I
guess they were group a certain way, idk, i'm not sure, but he said that from
time to time. Then he would say stuff like next year, I will make sure that
those of you that don't belong in this group (assuming
they are not good enough to be there) get moved and surprise suprise, I
wasn't with that class the following year. (how did
teacher manage to “push out all the students he didn’t want? What was his
reasoning/evidence in supporting his claims?)
Sent at 2:04 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: Looking
back there were some smart people in the classroom, but obviously i placed in
there too. I just again, felt like he didn't like me.(has
these feeling a lot) And that was a tough year from me, i had just moved towns, my parents had separated the
year before and I know that it
would have helped to have a more encouraging teacher. He did me a favor in a
sense bc my main teacher in 6th grade rocked
she was the opposite of him. WIth
him i felt like I couldn't or wasn't even capable of doing a good job but with
her, she was so encouraging that i went above and beyond (teachers encouragement allowed student to go above and beyond
on her own)
Sent at 2:07 PM on Wednesday
me: So your making your
negative experience into a positive, that's always good. Why do you feel like
these teachers didn't like you or were making comments about you? Were you self
conscious about anything?
Sent at 2:10 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: in 2nd
grade, idk, i mean i was new to this country. I'm guessing that because my
parents pushed so hard to put me into her classroom, she didn't like that. I
mean, most of the other student's parents were not, idk how to say this without
it sounding bad bc i don't mean it like that but they were educated. My parents
were so they spoke up and I know for a fact she was the one who liked to give
the orders. (teacher probably didn’t experience any
parents speaking up before and took it out on student from the beginning)
I think that carried over into me. As for my 5th grade teacher....
Sent at 2:12 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: ....i
don't know if that was a race thing. I mean he was white, and it was a mainly white town. I was probably
the only hispanic
in that classroom (reason student felt like he didn’t
like her and or a target in terms of speaking about her with comments)
although there were indian, Chinese and blacks. I actually just remember
something, he had mentioned that his wife was a teacher in perth amboy (large Hispanic population) and how "different" and
"bad" the
kids (making assumptions that bc they are Hispanic and
from that town, it made them ALL bad kids) were. For that one I really
do think the race factor played into it to some degree. And its not like I
could be making it up as projecting bc I had teacher before and after him that
never made me think about
my race compared to them or others
Sent at 2:15 PM on Wednesday
me: That's interesting!
It's amazing how you remember those little things that just don't sit well with
you. Let's get talking about some happy stuff, shall we? Do you recall any
stories about any teachers throughout your whole schooling career that have
made an impact on your life and for what reasons?
Sent at 2:18 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: its funny
how the bad things are the ones that stick with you more than the good
ummm
Sent at 2:23 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: well my
6th grade teacher, I loved, she was so caring and encouraging like I said. It was a sharp difference. In
highschool I also remember my english teacher who was the person that really
made me fall in love with english. (how did this
teacher make such a big impact?) I actually read the books for her class
lol, and her comments focused on the good that was on the paper as oppose to the mistakes or what was missing. She
was warm, positive and inviting. Then there was my chemistry teacher. She was a
tough teacher and not because she wasn't nice but bc she had high standards of
us and we had to meet them. She didn't lower the bar for anymore. (treated all students fairly) For example, you knew
that if you didn't do your hw that was it. You got a zero. There was not chance
of having an excuse and it was fair. You got upset but only with yourself.
Sent at 2:26 PM on Wednesday
me: Well, she seemed
tough and fair!
Tell me a little about college life-
have you ever felt as though a teacher was unfair to you?
Sent at 2:34 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: ummm...i
honestly cant think of any unfair experiences in college. I've studied at Rutgers,
at MCC and at Kean but no, i think i've always gotten what I put in. There have
been times where I have gone and talked to a professor about a grade or a paper
that I felt that I did better than they thought, but I guess because I am older
and I have learned to speak up for myself, I can articulate my thoughts and
feelings.
me: Did those
conversations or conferences go well with those teachers?
Participant Z: When I
was young, I didn't know how....I just got hurt and upset but wasn't able to
speak up and say something like I want to talk about this, or that bothered me,
or I dont like it when you say this, or what do you mean by saying that etc/..
(is it appropriate for students in elementary school to
express their feeling of being hurt or are they supposed to just “get taught”)
Sent at 2:40 PM on Wednesday
me: What have you
noticed about teacher/student interactions?
Participant Z: yeah
because its a respectful conversation. I mean they can tell me that my work
sucks as long as they tell me why. (college prof. able
to support claims with evidence- how do teachers in elementary school do so? )
teacher/student interaction in what
sense? now or before?
Sent at 2:43 PM on Wednesday
me: Both- how would you
describe the diversity amongst the classrooms you've been in and how
would you describe the way the teachers/professors interact with students
Sent at 2:45 PM on Wednesday
Participant Z: well that depends on the
teacher. Like I said, I've had teachers that said things or did things that
made the interaction uncomfortable for me, and Ive had teacher and professors
that have treated me with respect and when younger with kindness. The thing is
teachers and still humans, and as humans, I think we judge others. Now I think
good teachers know how to put all the bs aside and look at their role and
impact on that child's life. If you think about the effects of your words and
actions on all your students, than teachers would most likely not cause bad
memories on their students. You have to look at all students as equals with the same capabilities to learn.
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