Interviewing A New Teacher: Ms. Smith 6th Grade (Social Studies+ELA) and 7th Grade (ELA)

By Kayla Yee 
What was your learning experience like as a child?
Ms. Smith went to a strict Catholic school-where she had to wear uniforms.   At lunch, the girls had to sit, eat and play only with the girls, while the boys sat,  ate and played only with the boys. The teachers didn’t explain a lot, and they did all of their work at home, not at school, in the classroom.
When you were young, did you imagine yourself as a teacher? If not, what job did you want to pursue in life?
She did imagine herself as a teacher, although in the different phases of life, she wanted to be different things to keep her life exciting.
If you didn’t imagine yourself as a teacher, when did you change your mind to direct your career towards the teaching path?
In 4th grade, she wanted to be a teacher so badly that when  her teacher gave her an extra “teacher edition” of a science book, she pretended to be a teacher in her room by herself.  
What schools have you taught at, and what grades?
Ms. Smith has taught 6th and 7th grade in Westborough Middle School, Denman Middle School, and is currently teaching 6th Grade ELA and Social Studies and 7th Grade ELA.

From all of your teaching experiences, what is currently your favorite grade to teach, and why?
She likes teaching both 6th and 7th Grade for different reasons-6th Grade because it is fun to teach language arts and social studies back to back, 7th grade because they are “awesome” experienced writers, and it is fun to listen to them discuss their books.

Do you support using phones in class, and why or why not?
She only supports phones in class for learning purposes. Ms. Smith also doesn‘t support phones in class when they are used to take pictures because she has seen students post inappropriate pictures of their classmates, and used on social media, as a way of bullying.

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