Interviews
Interview #1
1: A lot of teachers were sub-par, but he had a few good teachers, and wanted to emulate them.
2: He saw how much he learned from good teachers vs. a bad teacher.
3: “One really bad teacher” stood out.
4: He studied computers at Sno-isle, a technical school, where he had a nice but poorly performing teacher. He realized just because you were a “cool” teacher didn’t mean you were a good teacher. Sno-isle required students to do an internship. He decided to intern in a 4th grade class and got to teach 4th graders about computers.
5: He tutored for extra money and came to the realization that he enjoyed it a lot.
6: Due to his work at the Elevated Sportz trampoline park and event center, he got to interact with kids on a daily basis. He realized he was good at working with children and wanted to pursue it further.
Interview #2
1: “When I was in 5th grade, I realized I wanted to be a teacher. My fifth grade teacher made me feel at home; she really cared and made elementary school really fun. Throughout high school, I had teachers that really cared and made me feel important. I still talk to them.”
2: “Growing up, I was always lost in a book. I would devour books. I liked series and fantasy. Harry Potter was one of my biggest loves.”
3: “I liked all types of literacy growing up.”
4: ” A school influence that led to me becoming a teacher was all the teachers I encountered. Another big one was that I always seemed to be helping people and the adults noticed and created opportunities for me to do it in the school setting.”
5: “Outside of school I was involved in several volunteer organization and always gravitated towards the opportunities that involved working with kids. I worked a few hours at a preschool and reading at the local elementary school.”
6: “A paying job, no. However, I did take a job working with and around kids because it would help me get to my goal of teaching on my resume.”
Interview #3
1: “I was already good at helping and working with the other students in my classrooms from an early age.”
2: “I enjoyed writing and reading.”
3: “I always struggled with musical literacy which was a bummer because I was in a lot of music classes growing up.”
4: “In all honesty, no.”
5: “Not really.”
6: “I tutored elementary school aged kids before, and quite enjoyed it.”
Interview #4
1: “Decided I wanted to teach English at a young age due to my love of language and passion for writing.”
2: “Enjoyed reading from a young age although I sometimes struggled with writing.”
3: “I struggled with mathematical literacy.”
4: “Teaching was always a career that was suggested to me due to my passion for literature.”
5: “My family.”
6. “No.”
Interview #5
1: Recommended teaching due to her leadership abilities.
2: Good with musical literacy.
3: Struggled and still struggles with writing.
4: Recommended teaching at an early age for reasons stated above.
5: No.
6: No.
Interview #6
1: “I have two younger sisters and I liked teaching them about anything and everything I could think of! I was also homeschooled for three years and liked how my mom taught me. Finally, I had a few teachers in school that were very passionate about teaching, which made me see how enjoyable the job can be.”
2: “I really enjoyed reading mystery books.”
3: “I didn’t like horror or biographies about historical figures very much.”
4: “I had a couple of teachers who really enjoyed teaching, were passionate about the subjects they taught, and worked hard to build relationships will all their students. I strive to be like them!”
5: “My mother was a strong advocate for me to become a teacher. She felt that I have the right mix of traits to thrive in this profession.”
6: “I considered being a marine biologist, but ultimately chose not to because I wanted to be more in touch with youth and have a stronger, more direct impact on their life experience.”
