Teacher Interview

I interviewed Eda Guven of EPIC Academy which is a charter school and the school I am currently at for my placement. I interviewed her because she is a first year teacher and figured she could give good insight since the year just ended. I have sat in her classroom a couple times throughout the school year and she has a great classroom community to correspond with her classroom management. The students really respect Ms. Guven, and they also were willing to work hard whenever I sat in on one of her lessons. She also treated her kids with respect.

I asked her many questions about how her classroom management changed throughout the year and she basically said that it is a learning experience. But that I should get to know my students because it will help bridge the gap between educator and student. Also, it will help us understand maybe why certain students act out and how to teach to their weaknesses. While discussing how to handle the students, Ms. Guven says that she rarely likes to punish the students, but will if necessary. But she likes to explain to the students why they are getting demerits, detentions, etc,. I think that is a good idea because it shows that she cares and wants them to know she is not doing it to be mean, but because there are rules that need to be followed within the classroom. Once when I was there Ms. Guven did have a student be referred to the office but she handled it well and told the student privately. When she saw the student out of the room she explained why he was getting referred and he understood. While he was mad that he was getting in trouble, he never was mad at Ms. Guven when he returned to the classroom. Instead he eventually ended up participating in the last part of class.

Ms. Guven said that EPIC does this thing called merits within the classroom and I like it a lot. It is when students just participate in class and they get a merit for doing their jobs as students, then they get to use their merits for some type of event if enough is gathered. While it is an incentive to have the students be more behaved, she said that merits could be given for anything/everything. So the students do not always know when they will be given. I like them because it encourages students to overall be good to one another and try their best in school since their is no specific way to gain a merit.

Comments

  1. Nikki PuchalskiJuly 2, 2019 at 8:00 PM

    It sounds like you found a great teacher to interview and she provided useful knowledge! I like that she points out getting to know your students and building that relationship. I think that is important and also advice the teacher I interviewed gave me as well. I also like that she takes the time to communicate to students and explain why they received the consequence they did and the reminder of the rules. It's great that they respect her and that she has built that trust and respect. What a great role model for you!

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  2. DianeCGrahJuly 6, 2019 at 10:29 AM

    It sounds like you enjoyed your Teacher interview. She is right and that you have to get to know your students in order to better provide for your students needs. This will also help build a strong, trusted relationship between yourself and your students. I also like your example of how she handled a discipline problem and that she talked to the student privately, rather than in front of the whole class. I think this is a good habit to get into and one that will be beneficial for the students in the long run.

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