In the Shoes of a Teacher On March 30, 2016 I had the opportunity to job shadow not just anyone but someone whom I might be in the future. I chose to job shadow an elementary school teacher from Washington Elementary School. I chose an elementary school teacher because I hope to go into that profession in the future. I am not sure exactly what grade level I want to teach yet but I feel like fifth grade level is what I am pursuing, so I job shadowed Mr.Gonzalez a fifth grade teacher. To begin with, I arrived to Washington Elementary about 15 minutes before the scheduled time. I was nervous but excited at the same time. As I walked in the school I felt like everyone was staring at me because I was dressed very fancy and professionally; however, I got over it. I patiently waited outside the classroom that I was there to job shadow because school hadn’t started yet when I arrived. As I was standing there waiting for school to start for the students my mind was all over the place I was thinking about how I was going to approach the teacher and observe his daily routine while at work. The bell rang and the students began to walk to their classrooms and at that moment I decided to enter the classroom and present myself to Mr.Gonzalez right before all the students walked in. After our conversation most of the students were already in the classroom so I asked Mr.Gonzalez if I may present myself and of course he allowed me to and I stood in front of the class and told the fifth graders my name and why I was there and what I would be doing throughout my time there. They all seemed okay with it and that made me feel welcomed. The teacher spoke to them about what was planned for the day and then they all stood up for the flag salute. I was walking around the classroom so I stood where I was at and did the flag salute with them and then they took a seat and as they were getting seated their music teacher walked through the door. I approached her and told her what I was in there for and if she needed help that I was there. All the students seemed excited for another music lesson and I was excited to see what they were going to do. They had their music class and I kept walking around the classroom and asking the teacher questions. Then as they finished up their music class the bell rang for break and we took them out to the playground. Mr. Gonzalez and I walked back to the classroom and that was when we had the interview with him. I asked him a variety of questions and as he would respond to them I would be typing his words on my laptop. After break the children started their English work that was planned for the day. I sat next to Mr. Gonzalez to look at how he would organize everything but every now and then I would get up and walk around the classroom to see how the students were doing. They got their papers and book ready and then began to read; Mr. Gonzalez was the first one to read and then they began popcorn reading. After they read a chapter they stopped and began to fill out a graphic organizer with the part of the book that they had read that day. Mr. Gonzalez and I walked around to help out the students and answer any questions they had. Once they finished the graphic organizer they wrote a summary of that section or chapter of the book and by that time it was lunch time. I followed them out to lunch and from there thanked Mr.Gonzalez for allowing me to job shadow him and at that moment my job shadow was complete.
Interview Questions
Student Name: Fabian Lemus Person to be interviewed: Luis Gonzalez Phone: (559)562-5916 Rm: 21 Job Title: Elementary school teacher Business: Education Place of interview: Washington Elementary School, 561 E. Samoa St, Lindsay CA 93247 Date and time of the interview: March 30, 2016 8:15am – 1:00pm Estimated length of interview: 5 hours
Question 1: What qualities does a person need to possess to be in this type of position? Response: You need a bachelors of science degree, along with a credential with the state of California. Question 2: What is the employment outlook for the career? Response: It is very good, teachers are needed everywhere to fulfill the learners of the community. Question 3: What school(s) did you attend? Are there any schools you recommend? Response: I attended college of the sequoias in Visalia, and then transferred to Fresno state university in Fresno. Both schools are recommended. Question 4: How has your career affected your life? Response: My career has affected my life tremendously before becoming a teacher I was a field labor worker, this setting has provided for myself and, my family to have a brighter future. Question 5: How well did your college experience prepare you for this job? Response: While going to school mini-core a teacher recruiting program allowed me to work in learning environments as I completed my education. So when I graduated I was familiar with the daily routines of being a teacher. Question 6: What advice do you have for a person aspiring to enter your career field? Response: I would recommend it, teaching gives you a sense of accomplishments when students learn and are able to apply what you taught them, and throughout the years you see the development of each student. Question 7: What is the most rewarding part of your job? Response: Seeing the students mature from the first day of school to the last day of school seeing them grow. Question 8: What is the most challenging part of your job? Response: Trying to complete all of the curriculum in the short amount of time that we are given throughout the school year. Question 9: What opportunities for advancement are there for this field? Response: There are many opportunities of advancement if you continue your studies you can always rank up in your field, there is a variety of advancements above teaching. Question 10: What are the basic prerequisites for jobs in this field? Response: The basic would be your college degree, your license or credential, passing c-base a state test, reca and cset exam.