Espoused Platform
09/10/2013
Stacy Reyerse
http://youtu.be/dAuaN2s9TnA
Interviewed by: A final year resident
Ms. R: Why did you choose to become a
teacher?
SR: I chose to become a teacher when my daughter was diagnosed
with a language disorder. And through going to speech therapy, and having to
work with her at home, they would send me teaching activities home, to work with
her. And just the enjoyment that I got out of watching her be successful, I was
like, this is what I want to do every day. I want to go to work and feel like
I’m doing something for somebody. You know, and I was, my career, I worked in
the medical field; this is like a total 180 for me. But, that’s what I wanted to
do, I want to be able to walk in somewhere, and feel like I did something to
improve somebody’s today, and then I can go home and feel good about myself.
Ms. R: That’s awesome. Five years after your students have
left your classroom, what do you want them to say about you as a
person?
SR: Oh. Ok. Well obviously I want them to say “she was my
favorite teacher”. I want them to feel like they learned something. I also want
them to feel like they have a level of trust with me. Like, “if I need
something I know I can go to Mrs. Reyerse and she’s going to help me.” I want
them to know that we’ve built that relationship over the course of a year that
they can always come back to me if they need
something.
Ms. R: How about you, so about your teaching, you’d want
them to remember your lessons?
SR: Well, maybe more about my teaching style, than the content
itself. I want them to say “Hey, you know, when I had trouble understanding,
Mrs. Reyerse always would teach a lesson this way, and I could remember it”, or
“She was so fun when she did things this way, that it made me want to learn
more.” So maybe, just more about my teaching style. I want to use activities
that keep the students engaged. Obviously you can’t do that 100% of the time.
You’re always going to have some of them dozing off in the corner. But, I just
want them to say, “You know, she was fun”, or “she explained it in a way I could
understand, it really felt like I learned something while I was
there”.
Ms. R: Why should students learn the content that you
teach?
SR: So that they’re properly prepared for the next year. You know
in the beginning in the primary grades it’s important to learn the content
because a lot of it is basic language skills, speaking skills, and writing
skills. And then when you get further up in the grade levels, you know high
school, they’re preparing for college. So they need to know the content area to
fill out applications. Proper English, proper writing skills, proper interview
skills, even things like that. So I want them to learn the content, but I also
want to be able to teach within the content ways that they can incorporate that
into their life. I want them to know that there’s a purpose for learning this
content and you will use it later.
Ms. R: How will you know that you have taught a successful
lesson? How do you know when your students have learned what you hoped to
convey?
SR: Well, usually you can see the look of “AHA!” on their face.
Their facial expressions are very important. So sometimes you can watch them and
if they’re squinting their face, you can see, ok they don’t quite get it.
They’re thinking about it, but they don’t quite get it. And then sometimes
they’ll give you that “AHA!” look, that ok, I know it clicked. Or, if after the
lesson is over they continue to want to talk about with each other. If they’re
talking about it at lunch. “Hey I learned in class today…” A lot of times when
children are confident in the knowledge that they have or in what they’ve
learned, they’ll talk about it to other students. So if you can hear them
talking about it with they’re friends, or talking about “hey, what we did
yesterday, are we going to do that again today?” Then you kind of know that
they got it. Because they’re less likely to talk about it and be excited about
it if it was something that they didn’t understand.
Ms. R: If I we’re a new student in your classroom and asked
you what do you expect from me, how would you
respond?
SR: Well first of all I would probably point out the class rules
and procedures somewhere. More overall class rules like showing respect, be
courteous to others. The general things that you do in your classroom. Don’t
talk out of turn, give your peers their opportunity to talk without
interrupting them. Basic guidelines like that. Then I would say, I expect you
to come in every day, try your hardest, make an effort at everything. Right or
wrong doesn’t particularly matter the most. I want you to come in and give me
an effort every day, and be working at 100% every
day.
Ms. R: If I were a parent of a new student and asked you to
describe the learning environment in your classroom, how would you
respond?
SR: I would like to respond by saying that our classroom is like
a community. That we learn by discussing within the community, and being
comfortable and sharing with each other. And that we can incorporate that
community setting into every subject that we teach. So the students can learn
from each other as well as learning from
me.
Ms. R: What analogy would you use to describe what you hope
to be as a teacher? You might answer the statement, “Teaching is like a_____, Or
Teaching is___.
SR: Teaching is like a jack in the box. You don’t ever know when
it’s going to surprise you. Every day is different, and just in my experience so
far, every day has been different. Your plans don’t always work out. You always
need to have a plan B. And don’t be scared of it when it pops its ugly head out
of nowhere. Take it on full force with confidence.
09/10/2013
Stacy Reyerse
http://youtu.be/dAuaN2s9TnA
Interviewed by: A final year resident
Ms. R: Why did you choose to become a
teacher?
SR: I chose to become a teacher when my daughter was diagnosed
with a language disorder. And through going to speech therapy, and having to
work with her at home, they would send me teaching activities home, to work with
her. And just the enjoyment that I got out of watching her be successful, I was
like, this is what I want to do every day. I want to go to work and feel like
I’m doing something for somebody. You know, and I was, my career, I worked in
the medical field; this is like a total 180 for me. But, that’s what I wanted to
do, I want to be able to walk in somewhere, and feel like I did something to
improve somebody’s today, and then I can go home and feel good about myself.
Ms. R: That’s awesome. Five years after your students have
left your classroom, what do you want them to say about you as a
person?
SR: Oh. Ok. Well obviously I want them to say “she was my
favorite teacher”. I want them to feel like they learned something. I also want
them to feel like they have a level of trust with me. Like, “if I need
something I know I can go to Mrs. Reyerse and she’s going to help me.” I want
them to know that we’ve built that relationship over the course of a year that
they can always come back to me if they need
something.
Ms. R: How about you, so about your teaching, you’d want
them to remember your lessons?
SR: Well, maybe more about my teaching style, than the content
itself. I want them to say “Hey, you know, when I had trouble understanding,
Mrs. Reyerse always would teach a lesson this way, and I could remember it”, or
“She was so fun when she did things this way, that it made me want to learn
more.” So maybe, just more about my teaching style. I want to use activities
that keep the students engaged. Obviously you can’t do that 100% of the time.
You’re always going to have some of them dozing off in the corner. But, I just
want them to say, “You know, she was fun”, or “she explained it in a way I could
understand, it really felt like I learned something while I was
there”.
Ms. R: Why should students learn the content that you
teach?
SR: So that they’re properly prepared for the next year. You know
in the beginning in the primary grades it’s important to learn the content
because a lot of it is basic language skills, speaking skills, and writing
skills. And then when you get further up in the grade levels, you know high
school, they’re preparing for college. So they need to know the content area to
fill out applications. Proper English, proper writing skills, proper interview
skills, even things like that. So I want them to learn the content, but I also
want to be able to teach within the content ways that they can incorporate that
into their life. I want them to know that there’s a purpose for learning this
content and you will use it later.
Ms. R: How will you know that you have taught a successful
lesson? How do you know when your students have learned what you hoped to
convey?
SR: Well, usually you can see the look of “AHA!” on their face.
Their facial expressions are very important. So sometimes you can watch them and
if they’re squinting their face, you can see, ok they don’t quite get it.
They’re thinking about it, but they don’t quite get it. And then sometimes
they’ll give you that “AHA!” look, that ok, I know it clicked. Or, if after the
lesson is over they continue to want to talk about with each other. If they’re
talking about it at lunch. “Hey I learned in class today…” A lot of times when
children are confident in the knowledge that they have or in what they’ve
learned, they’ll talk about it to other students. So if you can hear them
talking about it with they’re friends, or talking about “hey, what we did
yesterday, are we going to do that again today?” Then you kind of know that
they got it. Because they’re less likely to talk about it and be excited about
it if it was something that they didn’t understand.
Ms. R: If I we’re a new student in your classroom and asked
you what do you expect from me, how would you
respond?
SR: Well first of all I would probably point out the class rules
and procedures somewhere. More overall class rules like showing respect, be
courteous to others. The general things that you do in your classroom. Don’t
talk out of turn, give your peers their opportunity to talk without
interrupting them. Basic guidelines like that. Then I would say, I expect you
to come in every day, try your hardest, make an effort at everything. Right or
wrong doesn’t particularly matter the most. I want you to come in and give me
an effort every day, and be working at 100% every
day.
Ms. R: If I were a parent of a new student and asked you to
describe the learning environment in your classroom, how would you
respond?
SR: I would like to respond by saying that our classroom is like
a community. That we learn by discussing within the community, and being
comfortable and sharing with each other. And that we can incorporate that
community setting into every subject that we teach. So the students can learn
from each other as well as learning from
me.
Ms. R: What analogy would you use to describe what you hope
to be as a teacher? You might answer the statement, “Teaching is like a_____, Or
Teaching is___.
SR: Teaching is like a jack in the box. You don’t ever know when
it’s going to surprise you. Every day is different, and just in my experience so
far, every day has been different. Your plans don’t always work out. You always
need to have a plan B. And don’t be scared of it when it pops its ugly head out
of nowhere. Take it on full force with confidence.