Monday, March 1, 2010

American Government 3/1/10

In Class - Discuss new QOW (listed below). Class discussion on education reform will be on Thursday. Remember, stay current on your current events. By Thursday, you will need six (6) concerning education reform.

Homework - None.

QOW - You are to interview a teacher of your choice about the issue of education reform. You are to have a list of at least ten questions. In preparing for your interview, be sure to research your questions (see current events from previous blog posts). This is an interview, and you should not just give a teacher a list of your questions and have them answer them. This needs to be a conversational type of interview. Be prepared. Take diligent notes of their responses. Have follow up questions prepared.

By Wednesday, March 3, you will need to inform me of who you are interviewing. It can be any teacher or administrator on campus. By Friday, you will list the questions you asked and provide a brief, yet informative summary of their responses. Finally, you will need to provide a short reaction (at least a paragraph) to your interview. What went well? Were you surprised by any of the responses? This will be due by Friday, March 5 by 11:59 pm. I realize that teachers' time is valuable. If there needs to be an extension on this, we will decide this on a later date.

53 comments:

Mr. Gahagan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jeremaih(the jazz man)Zettel said...

These are the questions that I prepared for my interview.

1) How do you feel about school reform?
2) Do you think schools are to stuck on the old ways of teaching?
3) Do you think that Teachers should be evaluated by student test scores?
4) Do you think that schools have enough technology in them?
5) Do you think are schools need more technology added to them for teaching?
6) On a scale of one to ten, ten being the highest, where do you think are schools are at proficient wise?
7) What is you opinion about Obama’s launch effort of NCLB?
8) How do you feel about NCLB?
9) How do feel about the proposed boost in spending for NCLB?
10) Why do you think schools decline to compete in NCLB?

Talking to my teacher Mr. Gray was interesting because he is one of those teachers that has tenure and isn’t really affected by the reform and changes trying to happen in schools. He said that he really could care less about the school reforms and the things that Obama is doing with NCLB (no child left behind). With him being in the music program he said he doesn’t have to worry about a lot of the things that normal teachers do because the district doesn’t really focus on the music programs. They focus on the major subjects like math, science, English, and history. With technology he had the same kind of reply band doesn’t really need technology, but he did say it would be cool to have a music program that teaches how to use sound boards and stuff. With test scores he said that it would be fine cause if a kid fails his class its because they were not trying. For the scale he said that schools are low with proficiency because he can see it in his class some times.

So to Mr. Gray school reform is not important but if it fixes things for other teachers good for them.

OmgPerkins said...

Here are my interview questions that I asked my teacher of choice, Mrs. Schiessel.

1. Would you like technology to be implemented into our school system?
2. Are our students (at La Sierra) up to California standards, in your opinion?
3. Do you believe that "proficient" should be set to 60%, which is a "D"?
4. Do you support or reject the plans for the Race to the Top program?
5. Are our standardized tests, really doing it for our students?
6. What do you think about tenure?
7. Do you believe that student scored should reflect your evaluation score?
8. What do you think about Smartboards? Would you want one?

I asked Mrs. Schiessel these questions, and she gave me some interesting answers. She said that technology "would be a great idea, but it would cost money that would hav eto come from somewhere." I agree with that, where would the school get the money to pay for a couple hundred of them? For the California standards, she said "yes, I believe our students are up to the standards. However, some of the standards are written poorly and could be revised." For a proficiency being a measly 60%, she said, "What you have to look at is how many students are NOT proficient. Is 60% good enough? No, that doesn't help our kids achieve or aim higher." The Race to the Top discussion we had made sense of what she said: "Everybody needs to be held accountable for what they do. Education is no acception. Teacher should be evaluated based on what they teach, and students for what they learn." This made perfect sense. For the standardized tests question, she said, "You can only learn a certain amount from multiple choice tests. You have to make sure that students know what is going to be on the test. The tests do standardize the curriculum." Tenure, she did say this, "It takes a while to develop your skill as a teacher. It takes administration longer then 2 years to evaluate a teacher that has only been teacher for such a little amount of time." I then asked her if student scored should be reflected on her evaluation score, she said, "I give them opportunity to make up missed work and tests. The student(s) just refuse to do the work, and I cannot force them to work, it is their choice." Finally, about the smartboards, it seems that only the 900's building has them for the English classes, however Mrs. Schiessel teaches Spanish. She said, "It all boils down to money. I would love one in my room, but then all the other foreign language would get one, and again, money. And when/if it breaks, how much will it cost to repair?"

I believe Mrs. Schiessel makes good sense about education reform, and I was happy to interview her.

Fidencio Romero said...

Mrs. Edmondson answered the following questions towards my interview:

1. Do you believe that students are the reason why we have low test scores or is it because of the teachers?
- They both play a big part, because some students don’t care about school and get low test scores. On the other hand some teachers shouldn’t be teaching because they don’t know how to teach. Students need to have more responsibility towards test scores.

2. Do you think it’s fair to “Race to the top” for money?
- No because schools that are doing well, will receive the money and schools that don’t meet the standards will keep failing. They should measure it by the progress of students, not by what the students know from the standards.

3. Are you willing to negotiate with the board with your union?
- No because we don’t have much to say, because the union works with everyone and makes decisions.

4. Do you agree with the no child left behind?
- Yes and no, they should make some adjustments about what is required to teach them in school, like other subjects leading to vocational schools. There is also lots of flaws in NCLB that need to be fixed.

5. Do you believe that the things we learn in school will help us in life?
- Absolutely, like the basics necessities need in everyday life, like Math and English. Though there are some standards that are not needed in everyday life.

6. Would you be able to work with out a union?
- Yes, because I know I would be fine with out it because I do my job right, though I am thank full for having a union because, they would represent me in case of a law suit.

7. Should you be evaluated by the student’s grades and test scores?
- No, because some students don’t care about school and it wouldn’t be fair for teachers to be evaluated by that, just because the students don’t care.

8. Should they make changes on the standards presented to students?
- They should make changes to the standards in the math department because some of the standards are not needed. They should also give more time to present the standards to the students under a time limit.

9. Do you think we need to use the internet in school more often, to help us in the real world?
- Yes, society is going into the internet world and we need our students to have more access to these features to help them in there adult life.

10. Do you believe a student’s background makes a difference in their progress in school?
- No, because coming from money some students do bad in school. Coming from a poor background students do well and vise versa. Though students need to have lots of self-confidence to do well in school. Furthermore teachers should also play a big part in helping the students.

In the overall interview, Mrs. Edmondson surprised me a lot by saying that we should make some changes in the standards. It surprises me because I was thinking that she would say that we need to put more because she is a good teacher and gives the point across to what she is teaching. Also the one topic we talked about the most was question number two. She kept saying that money wont really help out the schools, because those schools that will receive the money are already doing well. Compared too those that actually need the money to help the students meet the standards. Though I believe money wont even solve the problem. I think it’s the schools in general that need to get involved more with the students. The government just thinks that if they throw money in there, the schools will try to do better but that’s not the case. Also one thing that was in my mind during the interview was the fact that Mrs. Edmondson believes that she could work with out a union because she does her job right. If I were to ask another teacher they would probably say no.

Overall the interview went really good with Mrs. Edmondson, and the fact that she surprised me in some of the responses to my questions.

Fidencio Romero Per.4

allypancakes said...

I interviewed an English teacher on the subject of educational reform. I thought her insight would be a little more helpful because she's not only a teacher, but she teaches a core and main subject. These are the questions i prepared for her:

1. How do you feel about merit pay?
2. Would you be confident in being paid based on standardized tests results?
3. In your opinion, do you feel you deserve tenure at 3 years?
4. Would being evaluated more often motivate you to work harder or teach more efficiently?
5. Would you be okay with an 8_9 hour school day if it meant for help for struggling students and was proven to raise test score?
6. Would you fail to be part of the teachers union if you were promised more money but was held more accountable for grades and test scores?
7. Do you feel a good grasp over the motivation in your classroom?
8. Would you feel confident being assessed by your students?
9. Do you feel secure at LSHS and in your union?
10. Overall, are you happy with the LSHS procedure on pink slipping teachers?

I found most of her answers expected, due to her actually being a teacher. I can't say a parent or a student would agree with her thinking. She did say merit pay is a good idea, but there are far too many factors attributed to it, which i do agree with. As far as testing goes, and being held accountable for test scores, she felt English tests are a bit harder for the kids to do well on, it's too vague of a subject. Then, directly pertaining to the students, she had some very valid ideas. The extended school day she was fond of, if a more structured and efficient tutorial was set in place. She also said she would feel confident being assessed by her own students and she feels a good grasp over a handful of students motivation. As far as the Union and LSHS's policy's go, she wants to see a second union, a more independent one, to work with teachers and the school better, with better efforts put toward the students best interest as well.

The interview went vary well and smooth. She is a very intelligent women and i could tell she is in it for the kids and love of the art of teaching.

ally smith
period 4

Kimberly Becerra said...

Interview Questions

1. Would you be willing to work longer school days and provide after school tutoring without extra pay in order to help students better in grades? Why?
Teachers Response: No, I’m an educated professional who is paid to obtain multiple degrees. If my expertise is required outside my contract time I’d like to get paid for it. Otherwise there is other after school programs that provide tutoring and help ex: Suvillian

2. What do you think about teachers being tenured? Do you think it’s a good thing or not?
Teachers Response: Teachers should not be tenured. There has to be a way to get rid of ineffective teachers.

3. Do you think schools should be accountable for students learning, no less?
Teachers Response: Yes students learn if they want to be successful

4. What do you think about our education standards?
Teachers Response: Not bad idea all teachers on the same page, yet the standards could be better

5. What are 5 things you think would help improve our education system?
Teachers Response: Better standards, A bit more freedom for teachers, Collaboration time for teachers, $more money$, Technology accessible to the students.

6. What do you think would be a punishment to schools if they continue to fail students year after year and still be able to move up grade levels?
Teachers Response: The state should take over

7. Do you think students are pressured to learn? Why?
Teachers Response: No they learn if they want they need more motivation they lack to much

8. What do you think about No Child Left Behind?
Teachers Response: impossible to achieve

9. Do you think our school is improving in standardized test and discipline?
Teachers Response: Yes test scores are improving, however discipline is decreasing. No accountability, no school consequences.

10. Do you think President Obamas Race to the Top, a new federal partnership in education reform with states, districts and unions to accelerate changes and boost achievement. A program that is a competition through which states can increase or decrease their odds of winning federal support is a good idea or not?
Teachers Response: Yes I think it’s a good idea. I like Obama’s education advisor, change will be good.


My reaction to the teacher’s interview was very interesting. I choose to interview Mrs. Edgar all my questions went well she responded with her opinions towards education reform. I was surprised with some of the responses to the questions. One of the answers that really surprised me was question number one. I mean I know majority of the teachers wouldn’t do it for free because it’s their profession and should get paid for it but students would benefit from it. I noticed she doesn’t like the fact that teachers are tenured because she says there are other ways to get rid of ineffective teachers. It’s true but how can it be decided if many agree that students test scores shouldn’t be used toward a teacher’s evaluation. Its true from Fridays discussion many agreed that students are last to do their work and fail but when they show up to class to take a test they can do outstanding and are just lazy to do the work. Overall my reactions to the teacher’s responses were very interesting. I realized teachers think different towards education but at least doing this interview I got to speak and listen to a teachers point of view.

Rubisel said...

I interviewed Mr.Lindin. The questions i asked him were:
1)What do you think about no child left behind?
2)Do you believe President Obama will fallow through eith "Race to the top?"
3)Do you think it will help out our education?
4)Do you believe all teacher should have tenier?
5) Should they be frequently and randomly evaluated?
6)In D.C they are offering higher pay for newer teaches if they do not join the union, do you believe this is good?
7) What dp you believe needs the most mprovement?
8)shoul;d more technology be in stalled in the classrooms?
9)Do you think some teachers begin to slack off after tenier?
10)What do you think should be implemented to help students education?

Mr. Lindin believed that not all teachers should be treated the same. Thee ones that are not doin as well should be evaluated and be graded upon not only their performance but the performance of the students too. He also stated that amongst the many improvements needed to be made the one that might be most important is helping students in the classroom like science in math. They need a higher level of education. He believe Obama is being to slow to act on his educvation plan, "race to the top" shouldve been implemented a while ago. He thinka for the most party tenier can be a gift and a curse for schools. Some teacher still teach at the same academic levels as they always have, but others might tend to slack off one they reach the "safe zone." While theres many things people disagree when it comes down to education reform mr.lindin like most believes that accountability with both students and teachers is very important.

LizzieG4 said...

I interviewed Mr. Gahagan, a Sociology and US history teacher.
I asked him ten questions on education reform and I was surprised by some of his responses.
I agreed with almost all of his responses because they made much sense.
When I asked him what he thought about “No Child Left Behind” he said it was a good theory, but he thinks the way we actually try to succeed in it isn’t good enough to make it effective.
He doesn’t think teachers being evaluated more often should do any harm. “If you’re a good teacher, you should have nothing to worry about, it won’t matter how many times you get evaluated”. Mr. Gahagan thinks teachers
Unions are good. He likes how it protects the teacher’s rights to teach. He says teachers are in a unique situation and they should have the right to teach any way they want to teach without all the restrictions, he is willing to sacrifice a few bad teachers keeping their jobs in order to have free discussions about anything. He thinks standardized tests are good because it keeps students, teachers, and parents accountable.
Gahagan doesn’t think teachers should be evaluated on how well students do on standardized tests. Money is an issue in our school, “schools that have more money, get better test scores”. He thinks technology should definitely be incorporated in classrooms more because in life, no matter what job you have, you’ll use some sort of technology.
I really enjoyed interview Mr. Gahagan because it was nice to see education from a teacher’s point of view, it was cool to see how confident he was in the way he teaches his classes.

ALEJANDRA(: said...

1) Do you think no child left behind should still be in affect?
2) Do you believe teachers should be evaluated more often?
3)Should tenure still be in affect?
4)Should test scores determine how well a teacher is doing?
5) Should standardized test scores really be looked at, as far as how well the school is doing?
6)Do you think that the teachers who don't really care about their students, and only care about the money, should still call themselves teachers?
7)Should teachers be evaluated by stdents?
8)Do you think schools are stuck on the old ways of teaching?
9)Should technology be somthing that is taught at school?
10)How do you feel about smart boards?

In the overall interview with Mrs. Barron it was pretty interesting to know that me and my teacher have mostly the same views on this topic. For thr question about tenure if it should still be in affect she said "yes because it protects the teachers, but then again it also protects the bad ones." Which isn't right. It was interesting to know her opinions as a teacher and see her views on most of the questions.
Overall the interview went very well.

Alejandra Justo
-Period 4

ImariL14 said...

I interviewed an English teacher, Elisha Henry, about education reform and what he thought about making some changes. I thought his opinion would be valuable because he is not only an English teacher, but is also the head coach of the girl’s basketball team and helps his students with their education and insight of where they are going.


1. Are you aware of the “Race to The Top”?
- He was not aware of the competition but he does think that something positive will come out of it.

2. Do you agree with being involved or do you disagree? Why/ why not?
- He agrees with the whole concept of everything, although he doesn’t know much about it.

3. Do you think that teachers should be evaluated by students test scores? Why/ why not?
- He did not agree with it because then teachers would have to teach to the tests instead of relating it to real life.

4. Do you think that surprise teacher evaluations would be more effective than planning them?
- His suggestion was that you do both. If you really want change then don’t plan it but instead of just coming for 5 minutes and then leaving, they should come on a regular basis to the same class. Coming consistently would give you a better idea.

5. What is one of the main things you think needs to be changed?
- Money is what’s most important. “How come they can cut teachers, but put up new buildings on every campus in the district?” He suggests they use it for teachers. Find someone who will say yes to the idea of putting the money to good use with teachers.

6. How does parent involvement affect your students?
- It makes students who they are. He used the quote, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” meaning that they won’t get very far. Without the reinforcement at home, it will not benefit the child in any way. They will leave La Sierra the same way they came.

7. What is your opinion about students being able to choose what school they want to go to based on academic achievement?
- He thought that it was a stretch but that it was a good idea. It shouldn’t be a piece of cake to do so but that it should be another option for students. It should include admission requirements and regulations for the student.

8. Should bribery be one of the ways to get students to attend school regularly?
- He agreed to the idea. It shouldn’t necessarily be “bribery” but we should give incentives. “It’s like basketball, if I scream and yell at my players then why would they want to come back. Now say I told them we are going to have brunch if you guys make this time or a certain number of layups, then they would try their hardest to do so.” In his eyes these tactics work and they are effective. Nowadays with this generation you have to. Anything it takes to get them here will work. Make it fun for them.

9. Do you agree that we should include more college prep classes at our school?
- He highly agreed that if we had more prep classes that a lot of teachers would step up their game. It’s way too easy nowadays and that having those kind of classes would give the students and teachers a challenge.

10. What do you think about setting up high schools so they are more competitive to get into? Do you think schools would step up their game because of the competition?
- He stated that that option would be an incentive for everyone to step their game up. Clearly it is a want to better the system but it’s just not happening. Although this process would take time it would be very effective all around for everyone, teachers included. The bad schools would show and then the process for reform would then take place.

*Imari LaMar<3

Kaitlyn Morales said...

I interviewed my art teacher, Mr. Gomez.

1. What is your opinion of no child left behind? Is it effective?

-He believes it is a really unsuccessful attempt to make struggling schools function. He believes it is not effective and is unrealistic, and believes it places the wrong pressures to motivate success.

2. Do you believe standardized testing accurately evaluates each student?

-He believes it accurately evaluates specific learning abilities,but not all. It evaluates only a type of intelligence.

3. Do you think Obama's race to the top plan will be effective?

-He says that anyone can be optimistic, but doesn't know if it is actually realistically going to help education. He thinks it is an attempt at a new way to function in hopes that it will work.

4. Do students test scores accurately evaluate the teachers accountability?

-He believes that it does at times, but not always because there are many factors to take in. But they can be taken as a signal if the teacher continues to have students with low test scores.

5. Should teachers be evaluate the teachers accountability?

-He strongly agrees because he thinks there is a lot to learn from student opinions.

6. What is your opinion of tenure?

-He thinks that it is a good idea, but is being abused currently.

7. Should tenure be given after more than two years?

-He believes that they should be given after 4 or 6 years to make sure the teachers don't grow complacent.

8. What do you think of merit pay?

-He thinks it is a good thing because it motivates and generates a stronger worker, what they earn is up to them.

9. Should our national standards of education be raised?

-He doesn't believe they need to be raised too much, it just implemented intelligently and realistically and then our schools will get results.

10. What do you think America could do to help fix the education system?

-He thinks that we should allow teachers to teach, meaning that they shouldn't overwhelm with unrealistic results from the students. He doesn't think that teaching to test is not truly teaching the subject.

I agree with him with a lot of topics, because the school system is failing and we need to fix quite a bit. I personally don't believe teachers should receive tenure because they should always be working, in business if someone isn't performing well they are fired, and the same should be considered in schooling. I honestly hope Obama's plan works because our school system needs repair.

Kaitlyn Morales
Period 4

*julie* said...

questions
1)How can teachers challenge the students who need it and slow down for the students who fall behind?
answer
-The first thing teachers need to do is evaluate the students to see who needs the extra help. Classes should be separated and classes should have more activities for the students to learn from. Also it would be a good idea for students to help each other.
question
2)Do you think teachers should be evaluated by surprise? And do you think part of the teachers evaluation score should be student evaluation?
answer
-Yes teachers should be evaluated by surprise as long as the evaluator is there all period actually evaluating us not just looking for 2 minutes and taking off. Its also a good idea for part of the score to be student evaluation as long as the students evaluate us fairly and for the right reasons.
question
3)What is the biggest problem facing public schools?
answer
-The biggest problem is the lack of resources/technology and money. i think another factor is the fact that more students are given to teachers.
question
4)Do you think if more money was invested at this school students would do better?
answer
-The solution is not just money. the money we get should be used wisely though.
question
5)Do you think students and parents should be able to choose their own schools?
answer
-Only if the parents are given enough info. on the school first. they shouldn’t choose a school just because their friend recommends it.
question
6)Do you think many teachers stop caring after they Receive tenure?
answer
-No. well it depends on the teacher. some are here just for the benefits others just for work. but many like myself love the material we teach and think its important to teach it. maybe some do stop caring because they lack respect from their students and parents.
question
7)Do you think students should be able to have their teachers cell phone number to reach out for help after school hours?
answer
-Yes, as long as they don’t abuse it.
question
8)What do you think schools need to do in order to improve student proficiency?
answer
-Schools can do whatever they want but it wont help. its inside the students to improve. self motivation. no one can do it for them.
question
9)Do you think if students got paid to do better in school their grades would change from what they are now?
answer
-maybe, but it would be for the wrong reason. education is a benefit you don’t pay for it. to learn and have a free education is enough pay.
question
10)Can schools really improve when many teachers are getting laid off, class sizes getting bigger, and elective classes being canceled?
answer
-No way! its to much work for one single teacher to be able to teach such big classes. kids need options and if they don’t get elective classes like art class they wont be motivated to see what else is out there for them rather then just math and science.

I decided to interview Miss. Martinez. I chose her because she's a really cool teacher who is caught up with all the news. it was interesting to see how teachers are really being affected by this. I don’t think its right that this is happening its not fair to teachers or the students. teachers used to be the most important people in the city. now they're super low in the hierarchy. this is wrong and am glad teachers are standing up to make a change.


<3julie monroy<3
per. 4

OrionPax said...

Interview Questions - Ms.Castillas
1.What do you think about the No Child Left Behind program?
* Has many flaws, won’t work unless other things are fixed first, but in general, it is a broken system. Teaching students to take a test, rather than think.
2.What needs to be revised?
* over-focus on state standards * focus more on knowledge rather than test scores *no consideration for students w/no prior knowledge * no room for remediation
3.What do you think of the situation at Central Falls in Rhode Island?
Sad, unfair that everyone was fired, thinks there are other aspects than just teachers.
4.What do you hate about this district’s educational standards?
* Unobtainable standards, esp. English * way of assessing students not valid – over-testing *things students won’t use in life * too many standards
5.What do you like?
*Provides some direction *holds teachers somewhat accountable
6.Do you think there are teachers that shouldn’t be teaching here?
Definitely, some refuse to teach requirements.
7.Do you agree with the current contract you have?
* No contract *Old one fine, new one unfair.
8.Does your union really help in negotiations?
Not helping as much as they could, not as strong as they could be.
9.Which standards do you think should change?
None in particular, but focus on less standards, and more mastery. Eliminate amount.
10.What do you think of Race to the Top?
Here, at least, we can’t go that route unless we can control other factors, control social promotion, more parent involvement, less class shifts, etc. Have all teachers teach what they are supposed to teach.

In all hindsight, I am not very surprised by Ms.Castillas’ responses. As per questions one and two, we all know that NCLB has many flaws and needs to be fixed. I honestly thought her answer to number 4 was surprising. She is basically saying we have too many standards, especially in core classes. I agree with her on the testing portion though- tests shouldn’t be used to assess the knowledge of the students. As for a lot of the classes here, I do agree with her that we have some that we won’t use in real life. It surprises me a little that she says the union doesn’t have as much power as I thought. It makes it sound like the teachers don’t get as much as they want, let alone need. The year kind of does move a little too fast concerning standards, but we do need to learn to master something rather than just move on.

Katie S. Per.2

OrionPax said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mukuria15 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mukuria15 said...

1. Do you think the mass firings at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island was justified?
-I never heard of that once in my life.

2. What do think should have been done instead?
-I place more of the blame on apathetic students than I do on the teacher. If the dentist tells you to brush and floss and you choose not to and your teeth go bad, should the dentist get fired and get all the blame?

3. Do you love to teach?
-Yes I do.

4. Did you become a teacher for the money?
-No, but I did move to California for the money. The location where I teach is 100% based on the money.

5. If no, shouldn’t a few extra hours doing what you love without pay be okay?
-No, because I didn’t go to college to work for free, homeless people do that. Why would any kid go to college if people expected us to work for free?

6. Why do teachers protest?
-I don’t know why. They all have different reasons; not paid sufficiently.

7. Do you think that budget cuts should even be occurring in education?
-No, in well fair from people who are scamming the well fair by illegal aliens. If you cut off well fair the aliens will go back home.

8. In your opinion, is “Art” a needed subject?
-Yes, because it expands people’s cultural literacy.

9. Should there be special schools that specialize in a certain subject?
-Yes, some schools should be geared for non-college students. Like, trade schools and technical schools.

10. Over all, in your opinion is education reform necessary and should it be the nation’s number one priority?
-It’s necessary, but not the top. Among the top three.

My interview with Mr. Anderson was as fun as I thought it was going to be. He was really intellectual with his answers and he gave me analogies that were too good not to agree with him for example in question two. I have never once thought of it in the way that just because someone can’t pull their own weight, the other person should get fired. It made complete sense. There were other analogies, but they were too inappropriate to write down (funny though; true too). For number five, when he said he wouldn’t work for free because he didn’t go to school to work for free, I agreed with him but at the same time disagreed because I’m going to college just for the knowledge not for the money. I’m going to further my education because I love to learn the reasons why and how. I was so happy when Mr. Anderson said that art is a needed subject because I love art with all my heart, it’s who I am. People need art to survive the harsh realities. In the end, with my final question, I came up with it because us kids right now; in high school, in school in general; we are the future. So I just wanted to know his opinion on how much education reform is really needed. His answer isn’t what I wanted to hear, but seeing it as he said it’s among the top three, I wasn’t unhappy at all. The interview was enjoyable to me and it went swell.
-Oh and in the beginning when he didn't know about the firings, i gave gave him a brief description of what happen so he could answer question number two.

LyDia:) said...

I interviewed Mr. Mummert whom teachers English. The interview questions I asked him are as follows:

1) How helpful do you find the Thursday morning meetings?

2) Do you think the standardized tests are a good way to evaluate student academic achievement?

3) What if we had more money would that make a difference?

4) How do you feel about benchmarks? Do you think the goal the3y create of where students should be is fair when all students learn at a different pace?

5) Do you think teachers should be evaluated yearly or on a more frequent note?

6) Do you think they should be unannounced?

7) How do you feel about the No Child Left behind Act?

8) What could help our schools education?

9) What should be done to improve our dropout rates?

10) Do you think high school education is actually going to help students prepare for the future?

When it comes down to it test scores should not be used to account teachers. What should be used in replacement are the evaluations assessed. Evaluations should determine pay and help teachers improve their teaching skills by offering them ideas and strategies to incorporate into their teaching, which could potentially have a huge impact on the environment of the classroom. Money is not an object and though it wouldn’t have an impact on us the students ourselves because we don’t see it, the fact that teachers wouldn’t be getting laid off every second would make a huge significance. Test scores are not an accurate source to file data on minority groups because honestly nobody tries on them even when incentives are given because we know very well that there just promises which is why students that do good continue to do good and those flunking continue to do so.

Lydia Jones
Period 4

gabby. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
gabby. said...

I interviewed my ROP teacher Mrs. Christensen.

ME: What do you think of no child left behind?
Mrs. C: I don’t believe in it children are left behind you have the kids who are severely autistic who aren’t getting there meets met, I know that personally because I have a granddaughter, what about the kid that doesn’t come to school? Parents don’t make them come to school. How is that the schools responsibility to provide the student with an education? You have students with different performance levels, then you have the students who just doesn’t give a damn.
ME: What do you think about teachers being evaluated based on a students performance on the CST’s?
Mrs. C: I don’t believe in that because we have students that don’t take it very seriously and I don’t think that’s a fair way to grade a teacher, there is just to many factors that make it an unfair system to grade teachers.
ME: How do you think teachers should be evaluated?
Mrs. C: Wow, I’m going to come out way out there and left field on this one, I’m evaluated every year if I don’t perform well every year, I’m on a year to year contract I don’t have ten year even though I have been here for 17 years, a lot of teachers are not going to like what I have to say, but I don’t believe in ten year. I think teachers should be evaluated every year. What other profession or job is going to let you do a crappy job and let you get away with it? None. Lets be honest there are teachers out there who aren’t very good at teaching, they don’t give the student the best of their ability and then the student has to suffer from that, we have teachers who reach that point of them not caring, and by that point it’s just time for them to move on but by giving them ten year it’s almost next to impossible to fire or simply let a teacher go. I mean we have teachers who make racial comments to some students and that should not even be allowed here, and the evaluation from that from what I understand goes from principal to principal; so say this year you have a teacher who is evaluated by the principal and that principal leaves than that teacher is under scrutiny by someone else than that whole process starts all over again.
ME: Is public education preparing students for testing?
Mrs. C: I think we are getting so test oriented, and I come from a different angle on that too, I think that students need to be prepared to work they need to be prepared to contribute to the work force, whether they are going to college and continuing their education whether they get a job I mean not all of our student to be quite honest are college bound, some teachers want to say that most of our students are but they really are not. I don’t think that testing is a bad thing it’s actually a good thing, I just think that there is other ways to assets students other than just testing.
ME: What should teachers be doing in the classroom in order to prepare students for the nest level of learning?
Mrs. C: I think that varies depending on what you think. I think we need to go back and focus on the basics, I mean we make students take algebra but yet again they cant even balance a checkbook, they don’t know how to figure out percentages on a credit card those are life skills that a student needs, we need to make more classes like that.

I unfortunately wasn’t able to interview my teacher for very long and wasn’t able to ask her many questions, because she was busy. What I did get from her though was very interesting in my opinion, we both agree that we think that students should be taught basic life skills as well, I don’t think that many teachers take that as a priority and it’s honestly really sad, I wasn’t really shocked by any of her answers I think we just all agree that most school reforms don’t do much for out students. I have always said this, I really don’t even think that our education should even be an issue, we should have all of out stuff work out, I believe that anyone that wants an education should never be denied of it.

Gabby Cervantes
period 2.

brenda g 106 said...

1. What do you think the No Child Left Behind program? Does it help or not?
2. Race to the Top is helping schools. It's a competition, what do you think of that?
3. Do you think that the program will lead to a problem?
4. Do you believe that all schools will be proficient by 2014 because of the NCLB program?
5. Tenure can save a teachers job but what about a bad teacher?
6. Getting rid of new teachers due to pay cuts seems unfair. Older teachers are still in the question. What's your thought on new teachers?
7. How are you evaluated?
8. What do you think about tenure?
9. Does the teacher's union prevent good actions?

I interviewed Mr. Pike.

Mr. Pike was kind with his answers, most of them anyways. He views the NCLB program as good and bad. It's just another test to give in his opinion. I see it that way too due to the fact that all we have is tests to show what we've learned. he told me his concern about Race to the Top, that high performing schools will earn money when that school is already well set off.If it's money for reform, education reform it'll be hard to pass by Teacher's Unions. The better set off schools will have no trouble if their teachers can play nice with their boss. That was Mr. Pikes only problem with it. He doesn't think that every student will be ready by then seeing as how kids learn at a different rate and have their weak points. The union protects every teacher no matter what. Getting rid of a bad teacher is hard to do because of the union. But at the same time protects good older teachers. An older teacher can be fired and two can take his/her place and be paid less. Older teachers should improve though to their class to keep up with them. Tenure is good for teachers who deserve it and relieves stress for some. The union protects underrated teachers by their bosses view so that the good teacher can continue working. Newer teachers should be given the chance to do their own thing.

Brenda Gutierrez
period 2

AmberK said...

These Are The Questions I Asked Mr. Nichols During My Interview.

1. What is your opinion on Tenure?
-It's good for security. As long as you are doing your job the best you can, tenure is a good thing. I think the more years you have, the more perks, compared to new teachers.

2. How would you better education if given the chance?
-Make kids and parents more responsible for the education. It's very easy to blame teachers.

3. How do you feel about Obama's "Race to the Top."?
-Too many unknown factors.

4. What do you think teachers should be evaluated on? Student Test scores or the progress made by students from previous years?
-Progress. Each year your getting different kids with different learning abilities. It is unfair to grade teachers on test scores because some kids are bad test takers or don't give it their all on tests.

Amber Jackson Per 2.

Anonymous said...

Brian Navarro, Interview to UCR professor, Martin Navarro. PART 1
Q: What is your opinion on No Child Left Behind?
A: I agree and believe that if the master has the necessary resources to implement such a program while having the support of the parents and school to have a bit of extra time completing the objectives
Q: Should Standardized testing be high or low accountability
A: Standardized testing has the problem that it only shows what you have learned off the top of your head and that it doesn’t reinforce it in any other way while also expecting you to know everything about the certain subject
Q: What is you opinion on “RACE TO THE TOP” Obama’s $4.35 billion education plan
A: I think it is a good idea to stop fighting wars and negotiating in other terms in other countries and spending more time being more serious with education, education has to be a strong topic for the government because without an improved education it’s going to be impossible to compete with the other countries.
Q: Should test scores be accounted for or teachers be accounted for if a school fails
A: I think that the teacher has to have certain responsibility for not accomplishing the necessary scores revealing if the students have learned the subject, and if we know of the goal we have to reach then we know were not doing something right if we cant even reach that goal and must start questioning the way we have implemented our programs and the way we have prepared our teachers and the way we must all participate to accomplish the goal.
Q: Should teachers be evaluated by students each year
A: Yes all students should be able to say their opinion about their teachers, they may not be sure if the teacher knows all the subjects but you can easily tell if the teacher is not interested and being disrespectful or unapproachable by students. So yes students should have certain powers when it comes to evaluating teachers and so the school knows how the students are feeling about the teachers in order to see if the teachers should be retrained or constantly monitored so that they are approachable and are able to help students and if it does come to a certain point where the teacher is no longer an asset to the school, they should have enough material alongside the students evaluations to see if the teacher should be replaced with someone who is willing to teach students.

Anonymous said...

BRian Navarro, interview to UCR professor, Martin Navarro
Q: What is your opinion on merit pay?
A: I think if the professor is producing results then it should be a good idea to compensate the teacher and also to use the tactics learned by the teacher on other teachers that need to improve.
Q: Opinion on Seniority, should teachers have it or removed?
A: It should be removed, teachers shouldn’t be evaluated at the start of their first year and simply forgetting about them later on, because that gives the power to the teacher to be an ass and not take any responsibility for failing classes and they became untouchable. Their should be the possibility to expel any teacher that is not functioning, being disrespectable, not being present and not producing results
Q: Should national standards be followed all the way through or should teachers deviate if they find something better\
A: National standards should exist so we can base and be able to grade the performance of certain states but it should also be deviated from because there will always be certain factors that make it impossible to follow the standards.
Q: Should Seniority be removed by a union if a union is convinced by a superintendent or a principal convinces them that a teacher or a group of teachers be removed?
A: The power of the union must be limited to the performance of the teacher cause if the teacher is not giving results then they shouldn’t have to use the union as a shield, it should be based on their performance, on your evaluations and on student evaluations and on results.
A: Should surprise evaluations work to keep the teachers be constantly trying to be good.
Q: I’m actually in charge of surprise evaluations in my department at UCR, I believe they have nothing to be afraid of, they shouldn’t be afraid if their doing the right thing in their classroom, but results of this should be limited at a certain level , cause it is transferring the power to the union and giving it to the school




I wasn't really surprised at my father's responses, i mean he is a UCR professor and all, though what surpised me was how badly he talked about the union, i would've thought that he enjoyed being a part of the union thing but i was wrong since he really is a cheapskate and said that he hated paying all the entry fees for the union. Though it was nice to hear that he believed that their shouldn't be a specific group to blame if students were failing. He also believed that the seniority acted like a shield for cowardly teachers and should be immediately removed. He added more to the statement by surprising me when he told me that he was in charge of surprise evaluations in his department at UCR and that the teachers that are doing their job should have nothing to hide

eliziel said...

1.What do you think about race to the top? I think that its whatever if it motivates students to do better than its all good.

2.nclb standarized testing is it on the students or teachers? well i think its a conbination of both because some student dont give any rats and then some teachers really dont teach and then the kids who do care get fustrated because the tests are kind of long.
3.what do you think about tenure?
sometimes the teachers who are tenure stop caring and start to lack off and teach when they feel like it and when they dont they will give a free day or work day so students do missing work or whatever. so they also do this because they know that its hard to get fired and they dont care anymore.
4.whats your opinion on novi maybe getting closed next year? well it sucks but i dont think they can close it or who knows because where will the students go they wont fit here with us.
5. According to an article japanese kids and korean kids are more advanced than american students in reading and math why do you think this is so are we dumber or what? first of all the students over there go to school for longer hours and they got to school and if not they go to work so if they are lazy like us they got to work and we get second chances over here they dont its very different.
6. Do you think that its fair when tenure teachers dont get evaluated anymore like teachers who are berly starting? No I think that its a bunch of crap no matter how many years they have working they should still bE EVALUATED just to see if they really are supposed to be doing what they are supposed to.
7. How will the school reform bill improve school facilities? im not sure what that is i havent heard of that
8. are tests measures of tests taking abilities?yes thats what tests are they test you tu see what you know it shows how well you listened or how much you talked during notes
9. should teachers be evaluated on students tests scores? hell no some students dont care and guess on every single question
10. Do you think that we have enough technology in our school or do we need more? i think that we need more because when techers try to take their class to the library its hard to get in because every single teacher tries to get in and have to take turns.


I did my interview with mr.Pulido and i was surprised with his answers because we talk realllllly good!! and he was also saying some thing about my questions but i was told not to write those answers down because of the vocabulary he was using and he was really getting into the interview and he said something that surpised me like the students here get so many chances and if we were in japan or korea we wouldnt last one bit because its either school or work and american students dont seem to like either one and he thought that its sad because we are also inresponsible.

Anonymous said...

Q. & A.

1. Do you feel you have enough freedom in the class room to teach what you want to.
Teacher : Usually, but not always.

2. What do you think of standardized testing as a measurement to measure students knowledge?
Teacher : I think its pretty narrow, and it does a poor job of measuring the full scope of the students abilities.

3. What do you think of the material that your required to teach?
Teacher : It's also narrow specifically public school, we teach too much toward testing and not enough beyond a test.

4. Does education need reform?
Teacher : Yes, It should be changed all the time it should never stay static.

5. How good of a job do you think you do preparing students for college?
Teacher : It depends so much on what a student wants to do in there in future. If there's latitude according to whats required to be taught then it makes it easier, but high school doesn't prepare students like it should.

6. Whose fault is it that students aren't learning?
Teacher : Government, government has played a damaging role with students. Not preparing them better towards were they want to go in there lives.

7. Should teachers be evaluated by there students test scores?
Teacher : No, for the same reason students shouldn't be on tests. It's a limited feeble exercise to see were a student is and what a students gotten out of their school eduction.

8. Should there be seniority and tenure?
Teacher : There has to be, that's just part of the process. Seniority and Tenure should be worth something.

9. How should students be encouraged to learn?
Teacher : Students need to find motivation. Students also need to find value and the teachers need to show value so its not a wasted experience.

10.Is our education strict enough?
Teacher : Probably not. It depends in what sense. If its the material taught then no its too narrow. In some classroom I'm sure there not enough control, but whats actually being taught?

I interview a teacher who has taught both public and private for over 30 years and a few things surprised me while interviewing him. He was a big fan of tenure and seniority because it gave him security and he thought teachers earned it. The funny thing is, teachers don't have to do much besides stay in one place to earn it. I thought i was given typical answers. I also saw how little one teacher can reform education. A teacher can believe one thing and teach a completely different thing. It's clear the teachers don't have much freedom or choice and that the government has way too much power. Until that changes, education won't change. I believe when it comes to learning something at school, more than half of American students have already made up there minds not to accomplish anything in class. That's the second problem.

Kenton Goodburn P4 Government

bRiDgEt said...

1)What do you think about "No Child Left Behind" also known as NCLB?
-The intention of "NCLB" is good but the practice is fraud. Its a good idea to keep for students to be proficient. How we do it is a fraud.

2)Do you think its correct for teachers to be evaluated based on student test scores. Why?/Why not?
-No because i can't take you home. I can't be 24 hrs with you. I only have control for 55 min in your day. I also don't know the history from kindergarten to now. so no

3)What do you think about the Standard test?
-Standardize test i do like. It helps to be accountable for the student and its necessary to keep everyone accountable parents, teachers students and school administrations.

4)Are Standard test accurate for showing students improvements?
-Evaluate students and evaluate teachers how they teach.

5)Should teachers bribe their students just so they can do come to tutorials or raise there grades?
-No bribing .I don't like bribing I believe in rewarding students for good behavior,bribe comes before the action and reward come after the action.


6) So what do you do for your students that are behind to get extra credit?
-Nothing, either they do it or they don't. I don't give them extra points. I tell them to pick this up and they do it. Why because I am there teacher and they need to show respect. So later on if a student asks a good question and I'm like that's a good question. Later that day I can be like he/she asked a good question I'll give he/she 3 extra point. But I reward I do not bribe my students.

7)Do you think that Thursdays meetings are mean full?
-There good on Thursdays and order to be a good teacher you need to learn from others teaches.

8)What do you think about Obamas Race to the top?
-I don't know much about this. So I have nothing to say.

9) what are your feelings toward Unions?
-I think unions are good,they protect me and others teachers. So us teachers have the right to teach any way we want. Without other telling us how to teach.

10) Do you think our schools need more technology?
-I think technology should be incorporated in schools, because now in days every job uses some kind of technology.


I interview Mr.Gahagan,a well known teacher at La Sierra High School.I asked him a series of questions and he responses were extraordinary. I was surprised with some of the responses to the questions. While he answered my questions it made me think and realize about our education. He had some great responses about everything I requested. He always gave me examples which made it easier for me to understand why he choose that answer. We focused more in number six question. He explained to me how he doesn't like bribing students to do things. He says that a student that wants to do good will do it without a teacher bribing them. Especially if a teacher is there for them, they will improve. He understands that teachers need to be behind them telling them to keep up. However it's the students that chooses what to do. He says that he only rewards students for doing extra curriculums. He says bribing comes before an action and rewards come after the action. He rewards students for doing more than what is required. Overall the interview went really good with Mr. Gahagan. It was nice to see a different perspective and for him to speak out his mind. He is a confident man that knows what he is saying.



-Bridget Fuentes
Period 2

DawnMcNulty said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
DawnMcNulty said...

I asked the following questions to a teacher of mine Mr. Rusich and these were his responses:

1. Do you believe teachers should have more frequent evaluations or less often ones?
-I think we have enough as it is, I don't think we need anymore or anyless we're evaluated once every two yrs and I think thats enough. I do feel administartion should drop in more often and simply get a feel for the classroom without evaluating but they are so busy they dont have time to do that.

2. Do you feel as a teacher you are motivating your students to do their work with the best of your ability?
-I think I'm trying with the best I can I think some of the students by virtue of homelife aren't bringing much to the classroom I notice after lunch we have a drop off.

3. How do you feel about NCLB?
-I don't think it's meeting the needs of the American public I think reading and math is important but I think NCLB is trying to make every child fit one round whole standard which you and I both know not everyone's knowledge is the same so I don't care much for NCLB.

4. Do you feel standardized tests are properly made to measure the skills of each student?
-Again you have a student who's parents didn't graduate high school, and a student who's parents have four years or so of college, the kid with parents who went to college are going to have an advantage on the standardized test cause the parents have taught them the importance of studying, but the kid who's parents didn't graduate high school and can't help them much in studying is going to have a harder time on the test. So standardized tests aren't really fair to certain people who don't get the opportunity's at home that others do.

5. Do you think tenure and seniority affects the quality of the teacher or has no affect what so ever?
-I think alot of things are blamed on the teachers in education. And I don't know, in my travels I haven't seen many teachers at La Sierra that don't care an aren't trying. Tenure in my opinion it gives a teacher security to do what they need to do and can't be fired for giving a student a bad grade. Cause when you have parents and students running the school you don't have much of an education system.

6. Should test scores and teacher accountability be linked?
-I don't think it's fair to make test scores be linked to a teachers ability to teach. Because theres no way as a teacher you can evaluate my teaching skills when the student is doing nothing to help themself get a good grade.

7. Have you heard of Obama's race to the top plan? What do you know about it?
-I haven't heard much about it except that he's pretty much George Bush all over again, only a little bit more intense.

8. Do you feel that AP teachers should be paid more than special education teachers?
-No because the special education teachers are working with students who have learning disabilities, and AP teachers get to work with advanced students who know how to study and get good grades, where as special education teachers have to find a unique way about teaching each student specially.

DawnMcNulty said...

(continued)

9. What effect do you think just passing kids through school (lowering standards) having on them in the long run.
-I think it does nobody a service. I think teachers just pass the kids on to the next grade sometimes because of the parents always down their back, which is wrong because it hurts people more and students end up getting diploma's who don't deserve it.

10. Is it the teacher's job to motivate students to learn or is it the students and their parents job?
-I feel its a little of both I mean its harder to learn as a student if the teacher is unmotivated themself. But on the other hand I am a firm believer in the fact that education starts at home and parent should also be held responsible for motivating their kids.


I felt that Mr. Rusich's veiw's were a little "old school" in my opinion. I think he was a little critical to thinking a little more I guess on the liberal. I was a bit surprised with how conservative his views were but I think it had to do with the major difference in generation, which does somewhat effect peoples take on issues.

Dawn McNulty
per. 4

Anonymous said...

The Questions on which I interviewed my teacher, Mrs.Schiessel(hope I got the spelling right) are:-
1. What do you think about the American Education, particularly the way of Education?
- It's excellent, because every American gets education for free. The current way of education is adequate, but there is surely room for improvement.

2.What are your views on NCLB? You can include any personal and professional experiences.
- It did not work. The plan itself was faulty, it was in a way unrealistic too.

3. Do you think Obama administration will be able to overcome the faults, and come up with something better?
- Yes, maybe. Don't really trust it, but that's what his job is.

4. We all know that some crucial steps need to taken to improve our education system. According to you, what are some reforms that you would like to get implemented?
- I think that the current system is good enough, there is room for improvement. But overall, it should be at a point where students are really benefited.

5. How much do you think that Obama's new plan,"Race to the Top," is going to work? Do you think it will be better or would it be a flop show again?
- I don't really know about the plan. I haven't researched it. (After I told her about the plan) I think it can be beneficial, but money is not really a solution for the problems. I think enough teaching is required instead of more money.

5. Do you think "Standards" really work in school?
- Yes, they work. But they can be made better. There needs to be some work done on oi though.

6. What do you think about the current controversy about the Central Falla High School?
- I haven't heard about it.

7. Don you think student scores on tests and "Standardised tests" really reflect teacher's effort or dedication?
- No, they don't. Obviously. Because, even if all students are perfect in class, they won't all necessarily perform well on tests. Similarly, even if no one is learning anything, some might really perform well.

8. Were you aware that in United States, there are other problems that exist like: Student are taught to cheat, to get them passed to next grade?
- No, I wasn't. That's not possible. Nothing can be perfect, so...

9. Do you think more Technology should be implemented in class, to enhance student's education?
- Yes, sure. Why not? It can surely help better the way of education. But we have funding and other problems, so it might not be realistic.

10. What thoughts do you have on the "Tenure" system for teachers? Do you think the teacher's union should be so strong that it cannot even fire teachers who are caught in serious offences?
- Tenure has it's own purpose. But such a teacher should be fired. You can't let it go.

So, I think my teacher has some views. She did get a little offended when I asked her some questions about some bad aspects of American education system.

sues said...

1)Do you think its right that poor teachers are paid the same as really good teachers?
- Poor teachers should be fired. opposed to what most people think teachers can be fired, it just requires the administrators to do some work.
2)Teacher unions have a positive and a negative side. Which do you think outweighs the other?
- Unions are neccessary for negotiation.
3)Do you agree with the tenure system?
- Yes, again, a teacher can be fired. Teachers aren't treated well enough.
4)How do you feel about the current school system, and if you could what would you change about it?
- Agrees with local control, for example, kids in southern california have different needs than kids that live on a farm. One size does not fit all.
5)Do you agree with "No child left behind"?
- Certain aspects of it. It needs to be looked at and changed. They made no provisions for poorer schools.

I interviewed Ms. Downer,an English 4 teacher. I was impressed by how much she new about the issue and the solutions and opinions weren't exactly what I expected. She kept bringing up the fact that poor teachers, no matter the difficulty, should be fired. It would just mean that principals would have to put in some effort.

- Jesus Gomez
per.2

crystal said...

Interview questions.
1) Do you agree with the tenure policy?
-“not always there are teachers who do not work hard
Who are tenured and there is no push for excellence.”

2) Should students test scores affect the teacher’s evaluation?
- “in some cases, student’s grades and work ethic should also influence”

3) In your opinion what do you think of race to the top?
-“Sometimes the turtle wins the race”

4) Do you think there is such thing as a bad teacher?
-“yes they try hard their students don’t learn. And they continue to work.”

5) Are schools using the idea of No child left behind?
- “in testing yes”

6) How do you think our education system can be improved?
-with a better plan and people who believe in the plan and will enforce
It. Not people looking for a title.

7) Do you think students study enough?
- “No they don’t even do homework or assigned class work. They don’t even
Know how to study.”

8) Do you think our education system got better or worse over the years?
-“way worse walk into any math classroom. Students can’t do the bascis, add, and sub,
Multipication or divide anymore.

The teacher I interviewed Mrs. Cook she gave some good points as in how are education system got worse now a days we have kids and teachers who simply just give up. We need people who are serious and are willing to help the students to improve our education and the test score or like ms cook said some kids don’t even know how to study someone should be there to help and teach them.

Crystal Mejia
Period 2

Sean C said...

1. How do you feel about Obama’s Race to the Top program? Why?
-“Grade inflation…monitored by testing and who’s to say that the teachers wont be giving the student the answers?”

2. Should teachers be evaluated by the scores that their student’s get on tests? Why or Why not?
-“There are too many variables to make teachers performance based on student performance.”

3. Do you think that teachers should be evaluated more frequently? Why or Why not?
-“Yes, because non-evaluated teachers get lazy and don’t feel that they have to be held accountable like students when they should be held accountable.”

4. Do you think that teachers salaries should be decided based on their students grades and test scores?
-“No, grade inflation, I would just have to put and A in my grade book and my salary would go up.”

5. Do you think that the tenure system is fair towards students?
-“Yes, I don’t feel that it hurts students until teachers stop caring.” What about teacher being kept based on seniority? “I don’t feel that teachers should be kept based on seniority, you should be able to keep your job if you are doing it right and your students are learning.”

6. Do you think that it’s fair that a teacher who doesn’t have seniority and has high scoring students gets fires over a teacher with seniority who has low scores students?
-“I think that it is okay if a teacher is not doing well at his or her job that they get fired.. it’s not fair that those who work lose their job no matter how long they have been there. There shouldn’t be probation or anything.”

7. What’s your opinion on surprise evaluations?
-“ Not a good idea, its important that teachers are allowed to prepare because every teacher tries new ways to teacher or has an off day and you don’t want to be “surprised” when your trying something new or you have one of your off days. As long as its at least a day in advance.”

8. Do you feel that student evaluations of teacher is a good idea? Why or Why not?
-“Yes, I think that students (not single, pool of students) would give administration a good idea of what kind of job that certain teacher is doing.”

9. Do you think that standardized tests are good or bad?
-“Bad, I don’t think that they are taken seriously by the students, there are no incentives to do good and they don’t count for anything. Also the students know that they don’t matter.”

10. Where do you think education reform should start?
-didn’t have an opinion.

I could say that after interviewing Mrs. Morrell I was surprised with some of her answers. For example when she said that she believed that teachers should get evaluated more I thought that she would say the opposite it made me feel kind of glad to see that she was confident that she was doing her job as a teacher. I was also glad about her response to the merit pay idea and her opinion reflects my ideas exactly. All teachers have to do to get higher salaries is “bump” their students grade up. He answer to the first question was good I felt how she said that there is no way to tell if the reform is working because who is to say that the teachers aren’t giving students answers to things. I was personally impressed with the responses of my interviewed teacher and I really liked this assignment.

Sean Cavenee
Period :4

Anonymous said...

Here are the Questions I asked my Teacher, Mr. Ramaswamy.
1. Do you think or Education system is effective? Why or why not? It is effective if yields results it is MEANT to produce. To the extent that there are too many students failing, it is Ineffective.
2. What do you think of the No Child Left Behind Law? I like the INCREASED accountability that it demands of educators. However, there aren't adequate resources budgeted for its implementation.
3. Do you think schools need more money to improve test scores? Why or why not? More money on poorly trained teachers would be a waste. Recruit and pay better performing teachers MORE.
4. Does our education need to use more technology in order for the students to learn better? Why or why not? No. Technology is ONLY a tool. Third-world countries often produce superior results w/o technology.
5. Do you think teachers should be evaluated by student test scores? Why or why not? It could be one component of teacher evaluation: IMPROVEMENT in test scores suitably controlled for comparable student populations.
6. Should tenure really be given to a teacher? Why or why not? Increase it from a 3 year to 5 year probation; tenure application that teachers RENEW every 5 years.
7. Should the students' parents be able to choose which school their child attends? Why or why not? Yes. No reason to restrict their choice.
His responses were interesting to me because he had good points to his answers. I agree that the money shouldn’t be used for poorly trained teachers would be a waste. Overall, his answers were surprisingly different than what I thought he would say. His answers also gave me another way to look at this situation. What amazed me the most was his response to technology. He said that we don’t need it in the classrooms because other countries succeed without it. I think the interview with Mr. Ramaswamy was a blast. He had fun answering my questions and so did I asking them. In the end I think I made an excellent choice in whom I interviewed.
Tony Chavez Per. 2

a said...

1.Do you think that education reform is necessary?
“Yes. Yes, Definitely. We need it.”
2.How do you feel about seniority?
“I don’t think that it is fair at all. People get complacent and unmotivated. Just because they have been there longer they feel that they don’t have to be good anymore and they get lazy just because they are “set” already.”
3.Do you think that teachers should be evaluated more often?
“Yes. But I think that they need to come up with better evaluations because any techer can fake an administrator out for one period.”
4.What do you think about student evaluations?
“I think that is a great idea because students are the ones constantly in the class and they know the teacher better than any administrator.”
5.Should teachers be evaluated by the use of test scores?
“Yes I think that should be part of their evaluation but not all because some students just don’t take testing seriously.”
6.Do you think teacher behavior filters into student’s behavior?
“Oh yeah, it defiantly does. “
7.How do you feel about Obama’s “Race to the Top”?
“I think that it is unfair because some schools just can’t meet the standards. “
8.Do you think that standardized testing is a good way to judge students academically?
“No, because a lot students don’t take testing seriously. Also ,because every student learns at different pace.”
9.What do you think about Tenure?
“It’s a good idea, but I think that people take advantage of it.”
10.What do you think about No Child Left Behind?
“I think that it's impossible, I mean, no one is the same, everyone learns at a different pace.”

My interview with Ms.Hansen was very short because we didn’t have much time, but she still answered all the questions I asked her. I was worried she would be uncomfortable answering these questions because she hasn’t been working at La Sierra for that long but my interview ended up going pretty well. Honestly I thought that all her answers were pretty typical and expected. There wasn’t even one answer of hers that I disagreed with. One of her answers that I strongly agree with was that seniority is not fair at all, some teachers do get lazy and unmotivated just because they are “set” and don’t need to worry. Overall, my interview went really well.

Amy On
Period 4

a said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
kelleyhobbie said...

I interviewed my aunt Kathy who has been teaching at Jurupa Middle School for 38 years.
1. Should teacher evaluations include student test scores?
-No because different teachers get all types of kids and the honors students tend to do better on tests than the regular students.
2. Should there be a tenure plan?
-Yes because if they have proven to do well in the first three years of teaching they should be able to have some job security.
3. What is your opinion on "Race to the Top"?
-I don't know much about it other than it is just another gimmick to try to make it look like our kids are doing well.
4. Are schools productively using the idea of No Child Left Behind?
-We are using it in terms of giving students a test but it is counterproductive and it does not produce well rounded/educated children.
5. Is there such a thing as a bad teacher? Why or why not?
-Teachers all have bad days but it is hard because it depends on the kids and they go through so much including the different teacher evaluations as well as schooling and different types of ways to be prepared.
6. How do you think our education system can be improved?
-I think there should be a lot less emphasis on standardized test scores and more emphasis on a well rounded education including arts and others skills.
7. Why do you think students are more motivated to study in other countries?
-The different cultures put more value on school and it is more of a family pride. America is more geared to fun/ laid back education.
8. Do parents really have an effect on students' work and is that an excuse for students to fail?
-They have a major effect but a lot of times students fail because their parents do not push them hard enough.
9. What other ways can teachers be evaluated?
-The atmosphere of the room, the lesson plans and the way they are structured, and the high school level students evaluate the teachers.
10. Are the standards in schools high enough for kids to be prepared for college?
-Yes for the kids who will apply themselves and learn it but the kids who try to get by will not be prepared for college.

Interviewing my aunt was interesting because she has been working as a teacher for so long. She has a lot of experience and knows how kids are when it comes to the different tests and motivation. I agreed on almost everything she said except for the fact that there should be a tenure plan. Some teachers are not motivated to be at school and it affects the kids. Just because the teacher had some experience does not mean they will teach the way students need to understand the standards. Overall I got a lot out of my aunt and her opinions on the education system made sense.

arisbel said...

These are the questions that I interview my teacher.

1)Do you think its the students falt that the teachers cant teach?
2)Do you think money is the solution for schools?
3)Do you think bench marks test actually help students to learn more?
4)Do you think parents motivate their kids to do good in school?
5)Do you think its right to be forced to go to the school they assign to you or should parents be able to choose?
6)Do you think that teachers do a good job in motivating students?
7)Should students test scores be used to evaluate teachers?
8)Should teachers seniorty play a part in them keeping their job?
9)Do you think students should evaluate their teacher?
10)Do you think that consulers really do care about motivating students?

When I was interviewing Mrs.Anderson,as I was talking to her I was suprised on what she had to say about my questions.When I aked her if money was the solution to schools she said thats not the only problem there are numbers of things that need to be dressed,main issue is accountabilty.I did agree with her on that.there was one question that i argued with her about how consulers dont care or take their time of what so ever they dont care about if you graduate they make it seem like they do.I asked her do you belive that we need more technology she did agree with that.Also when I asked her if benchmarks help students learn more responed in a no because they are not use defectally in our experince.I just basically think that they are a waist of time.

Overall Mrs.Anderson had some really good responses towards my questions.Im glad that I interview her.
-Arisbel Miranda per.4-

ramon castaneda said...

I interviewed Mr. Krick and this is what he had to say.
for question 1. Do you think the no child left behind act is working? He said no because before the act was passed he used to be able to teach all the things he wanted but now that the act is up and all the test he has to give it has take his time to teach and can only teach certain things so the students are not learning what they need.
2. Should teachers be evaluated based on the students test and grade score's? He said no because its not fair for the teacher if the student does not want to do good and the parents should help the students want to learn.
3. What do you think about tenure should it be taken away? He said he does not care about tenure.
4. Would it be a good idea to have technology like laptops in the classroom? He said yes but also no because most schools wont be able to afford them and that if they do have them the schools might not use them daily so it would also be a waste of money.
5. Could paying students to do well in school work? He said sometimes but only if the money is offered as a scholarship to save for their future.
6. would it be a good idea for teacher's to be evaluated without notice? He said that they do evaluate teacher's every 2 years and it is 2 times but one is a notice and the second one is not.

Per. 4

brittney said...

These are my questions I asked for my interview.
1.What do you think about the new "Race to the top" reform?
-Well, I think it's going to be just like "No child left behind.
2.In your eyes, has "No child left behind" done it's job?
-Not at all. The intentions of the program didn't excede the expectations.
3.What ideas do you have in mind that might make the education system better?
-I believe we need a different system overall. But we need more time face to face with the students.
4.Is the current education system working for you?
-Yes and no. But, most of the education reforms we have aren't and haven't been working. We need a different approach.
5.If technology was in the education place, do you think it will help students learn?
-To a point, technology will work. But, not all teachers would be able to teach with it.
6.In the long run will education be better?
-I really hope it will. Education is a huge thing in the world. And peoples lives won't go anywhere.
7.What are your thoughts about the budget cuts that happened and are happening?
-Its horrible. The teachers and people that are affected from it can't do much now.My prayers go out to all of them.

I do agree with some of the answers she gave me, but not all of them. She had a hard time answering some questions. The subject of education was very touchy to her. I was very surprised by the answer she gave for number five, because I believe technology will make the education place a better environment for teens to learn and put their minds in the right place.
-Brittney Isley per.4

brittney said...

These are my questions I asked for my interview.
1.What do you think about the new "Race to the top" reform?
-Well, I think it's going to be just like "No child left behind.
2.In your eyes, has "No child left behind" done it's job?
-Not at all. The intentions of the program didn't excede the expectations.
3.What ideas do you have in mind that might make the education system better?
-I believe we need a different system overall. But we need more time face to face with the students.
4.Is the current education system working for you?
-Yes and no. But, most of the education reforms we have aren't and haven't been working. We need a different approach.
5.If technology was in the education place, do you think it will help students learn?
-To a point, technology will work. But, not all teachers would be able to teach with it.
6.In the long run will education be better?
-I really hope it will. Education is a huge thing in the world. And peoples lives won't go anywhere.
7.What are your thoughts about the budget cuts that happened and are happening?
-Its horrible. The teachers and people that are affected from it can't do much now.My prayers go out to all of them.

I do agree with some of the answers she gave me, but not all of them. She had a hard time answering some questions. The subject of education was very touchy to her. I was very surprised by the answer she gave for number five, because I believe technology will make the education place a better environment for teens to learn and put their minds in the right place.
-Brittney Isley per.4

Dominique Perles said...

I had interview with a former teacher of mine. and here are few of the questions I had prepared and the answers she had replied.

What do you think about our education standards?
I think its ridiculous we need more practice in today's necessary conflicts we run into such as math.

Do you think schools should be accountable for the students learning? of course schools always a door that is open to learn something new each day.

Do you agree with the child left behind? I cant see any progress whatsoever.

Should all teachers have tenure?
if they are great teachers then they should. But they should have evaluations each year from students and staff.

do you think our schools are improving on standardized test and discipline? no comment

should technology be taught at schools? Yes we are in the process of creating better elements and technology for the future to make our lives easier from day to day.

Should teacher be evaluated by students test scores? Of course it means tested to see if they actually learned something.

Should surprise teacher evaluation be more effective that planning them? Yes because it shows if teachers are really teaching what is required.

Should students be able to choose what school they want to go to based on academic achievement? Its what is based in your knowledge to prove what school is preferably best for you.

Should bribery be one of the ways to get students to attend school regularly? Yes they should to get them motivated ? what else can we do ?

Should we create more college prep classes at our school?

Yes because we can feel if college is right for us from a start.and see how it is.

I agreed with most of these answers. We have the same perspectives in such topics that we discussed. This answer was one major topic we contemplated about."What do you think about our education standards?
I think its ridiculous we need more practice in today's necessary conflicts we run into such as math and problem solving"
I strongly agreed with this one , its speaking the truth so many are ignorant of the basic's of math , we need to make business math a necessity , I learned a lot on how to divide money for savings and such. It teaches you how to survive in the real world other than geometry and algebra 2.
It'll be a great change to have this math and 2 years of another.
The interview went really great I love hearing other peoples perspectives especially from those who teach us.

HorH@y said...

1. What is your opinion on no child left behind? Do you think its working? -Mr. Clazie had said no he does not like it at all because everyone has different skills and you can’t force a kid if he is bad at math to do well and pass it.
2. Should America change the teaching programs so that kids will actually want to attend school and lean? Should school days be longer?- Mr. Clazie says that they should change the teaching program and if so he would not want to accept late work from seniors and he would just let them fail and no second chances. He does not like the idea of having longer school days because he wants more time to do personal stuff.
3. Do you think the teachers are to blame for the student’s failures on test and quizzes? Or is it all up to the students?-Teachers are also to blame said Mr.Clazie because he knows some teachers that aren’t well at doing their job.
4. Has Obama made any progress in helping our country’s education? Or has he made it worse? -Clazie says he does not know because he doesn’t keep up with Obama’s speeches and information but he says that he hasn’t seen any improvement in general.
5. Recently a school in Rhode Island’s had fired all their teachers and staff because of poor test scores and dropped the school. Do you think that was necessary? -He had replied saying no they should have resolved the problem because maybe the teachers were not doing their job so they should have replaced the teachers and the students aren’t to blame.
6. America has been said to be one of the lowest performing state in education why do you think we are?-Probably because other states spend more time and have a better education plan then the U.S. and is working for them.
7. What would you rate our education program on a scale one through ten?-he says a four.
8. If you can do anything to help us students learn better how would you do it?-He would spend one on one time with every student to make sure they understand the material but he cannot because there’s not enough time in school to do so.
9. Should we blame the Government for student’s not performing well in classes?-Yes/no he says, because the government thinks that every student is responsible for doing their work and being good angles in class and in real life students are not responsible and the students should be.
10. Would technology play a huge role in helping schools perform better in classes?-yes/no, yes because they can keep track of all there assignments notes and days test are due but most kids would probably be wondering of into other websites like face book you tube etc.

I think the interview went well and had many good answers from Mr. Clazie I also had some shocking ones that I wouldn’t have expected. His answer for number two when he had said that if he could he would let student’s fail and not give them a second chance because he always motivates us to turn in missing work so that we do get some credit, I would have never of thought that he would be so hard. I also expected that he would vote on the teacher’s side more than the students because he said many times that teacher’s are to blame for student’s failures sometimes.
George Gallardo Period 2

fmarvi said...

1) Do you support Obama’s plan for education reform with Race to the Top?
- For some schools, yes, but others, no. There are so many rules that in this economy, it is difficult to fit that criteria.
2) Are standardized tests a good way to measure student readiness and success?
- Yes, but it does give us the whole picture. It should not be only thing because there are so many factors that also need to be taken into account.
3) Should test scores be used to evaluate teachers?
- Not yet because they don’t work with all subjects. There are too many factors, like demographics, involved with teaching than just test scores. Some things are out of a teacher’s control.
4) Should teachers be evaluated more frequently in class?
- Yes, definitely. They need to be evaluated at least once a year. If you do your job properly, then it does not matter. Why do people get evaluated if nothing happens to them?
5) What is one thing you would like to see change in our education system?
- The seniority structure. It is not fair that underperforming teachers continue teach because they have seniority. Also, pay should be based on merit and success rate. Where they teach should also be taken into account.
6) Do you support teacher’s unions or do they do more harm than good for education?
- I support it as long as all voices are heard. Many times, the teachers that are not tenured are not equally valued. But, overall they are helpful.
7) Should there be teacher tenure or should there be more strict standards and accountability?
- There should be protection for teachers but not tenure. The standards that we currently have are fine and do not need to change.
8) Would schools be better run if they were privately run and for-profit?
- No. The point of education is not to make it a business. Kids who are underachieving and come from lower-income families will be left behind because they won’t be able to get to the better schools.
9) Are the student’s standards high enough or should be harder?
- The current standards are fine. The problem is not the standards but the way they are taught.
10) Do you feel you need to change your teaching methods to become a better teacher?
- I could always do better and I know that I’ve been improving every year that I teach. I wouldn’t be a good teacher if I didn’t want to grow.

Interviewing my teacher turned into somewhat of a debate because we held such
different opinions but, I still enjoyed it. I agreed with her on some aspects like teacher tenure, standardized tests, and yearly evaluations, but not on current teacher standards and having schools run like a business, which she was against. I felt like she used the demographic factor in many of her answers but I feel that can be negligible once a good education system is intact. We should not jeopardize a chance for better change because of few people that are unwilling to learn.

Anna Gonzalez ;) said...

Q&A for Interview:

1) Do you agree with No Child Left Behind?
- No, one will never grow if he or she never knows what failure of disappointment in life. If they allow a student who is a slow learner to go on to the next grade, the student will fall even more behind and will not be able to catch up. No child left behind is not a good way to try and improve the academic achievement of students.
2) What are your thoughts on education reform?
- I believe a lot is getting done to try and fix the current education system. However, I haven't seen much improvement in schools. Students are caring less and less which isn't helping.
3) After how many years do you believe a teacher should obtain tenure?
- I sometimes think tenure should not exist. I have seen several teachers who need to be removed but since they have tenure they are safe. If people want to see an improvement in education, they need to make sure they have qualified people who actually do their job.
4) Should test scores be attached to teacher evaluations?
- No, it's not fair for a teacher who has students that do not care about their grades. Test scores are not an accurate way of testing the performance of a teacher.
5) If you were evaluated on a weekly basis, how do you believe that would effect you as a teacher?
- I think I do my job pretty well. However, if I were evaluated weekly I do believe I would do an even better job and always focus on making sure my students are understanding the criteria learned in class. I believe this would be extremely helpful when it comes to making sure all teachers are doing what they are supposed to be doing.
6) Do you believe standards for students should be raised? Why or why not?
- I think certain standards should be taken out and some should be out it. It seems as if students in high school are not being taught the necessities of surviving the college life. Standards especially in English and math classes need to be raised and should parallel to the standards at college level.
7) How would you feel if student's gave the teacher evaluations?
- I have done this in the past and I have found it to be quite helpful. I can see what I am doing wrong and what I need to improve on as a teacher.
8) Would technology be beneficial in a student's education?
- Yes and no. Technology can only help so much. It may keep the student more interested but again it all depends on students willing to do the work they are assigned. I do not see how technology would improve that.
9) Do you believe that a parent's involvement in a child's education is crucial?
- Again. Yes and no. If a child is not doing well, then a parent's involvement is crucial. they need to be able to scare their child into doing well in school. Sadly, I have seen less involvement from parents over the years. but I have also met many students who have done excellent and when I ask them if they were to get in trouble if they brought home a bad grade, they say their parents usually don't know about their grades, or they say yes my parents would kill me. So, it depends.

P.S summary on second post. did not fit on first post.

aLeX said...

Part 1:
1.In your opinion do you think that standardized testing is a good way to measure student’s academic achievements?
-Not fully, some students panic and aren’t able to perform well on the tests. You can’t expect to measure everyone’s performance on a test that even bright students don’t score well in. Also many of the students don’t take the tests seriously; they should be offered an incentive so that they would want to actually try. Another thing is that in my opinion the tests are flawed.
2.What comes to mind when you think about “No Child Left Behind,” and what’s your opinion on it?
-The expectations are unrealistic to an extent. What they should do is offer classes in high school that depend on what you plan on perusing, whether it is college or not. Programs such as college prep A-G and vocational basic level classes, seeing as college isn’t for everyone. But of course still concentrating a lot on Math.
3.Are you familiar with Obama’s Race to the Top, and do you think it’s a good idea?
-Yes, I think it’s a great way to motivate, as long as things are put in base and everyone has a main focus to reach. The problem is they need to start these ideas of performing better in school at an earlier age and introduce rigorous courses at a different age. The problem of why this plan isn’t working out as they hoped it would is because our education level value is different from other countries.
4.Should teachers be evaluated on their way of teaching based on the students test scores?
-Not really, because there are some students that don’t really care about their grades or trying on such tests. That’s why it wouldn’t be fair to penalize a teacher for careless students. Yet, I believe in order to get students to perform well is to develop a good report with students so that they may try.
5.Do you think that if schools were given more money would their students perform well?
-Not really, having more money doesn’t make a student try harder seeing as they students themselves don’t receive the money. The only way it would is if like I said you offer an incentive so that they will then be motivated to try. But still I don’t think money is the solution to our education problem.
6.What are your thoughts on Tenure, should teacher’s seniority play a part in them keeping their jobs even if they may be horrible teachers, and the good ones are being let go?
-At times I don’t think it’s a good idea because many good teachers are let go simply because they haven’t worked long enough.
7.Do you think being an educator being part of a union is a good thing?
-Yes and no. Yes because it protects us and fights for us such as when dealing with pay and offers us benefits. No because I don’t think the way they work is completely right, there needs to b a reform in the Unions.
8.Would you choose NOT to join a union if it meant you got paid way more, about $100,000 a year?
-I would choose the union, simply because I don’t want to take the chance of losing all the benefits and being able to get fired at any moment, but I do think there needs to be changes to the union.
9.Should teachers be evaluated by their student’s and colleagues to see if they are good teachers or not?
-Yeah, but if any negative comments are given they have to give specific reason why they think this way or why it is they are saying such things.
10.Where do you think education starts, at home or at school, and is it the teacher’s complete responsibility to make students want to learn and succeed?
-It definitely starts at home. That’s also where discipline should start as well. Parents need to be more involved in their kids’ education and spend time with them and take them to tutoring if needed. I do think it’s also the teacher’s responsibility to make the student want to learn but it’s not all up to them.

aLeX said...

Part 2:

In my interview with Ms. Logan I wasn’t at all surprised with her responses because I knew we shared the same opinion when it came to education. This being because just like her I want to become a high school math teacher and I spend much of my time discussing with her my opinions based on our education. By her responses she definitely made it clear that she believed that there should be something changed when it came to education. She believes that the standardized tests weren’t the greatest way to measure student’s academic achievements because many of them don’t try or simply panic and can’t perform at their fullest. She also mentions how students shouldn’t all be placed in the A-G classes because many don’t want to attend college so they see these as a waste of time. She says how there should be a separation of classes based on your level or what you want to take. When I asked her about all the questions I had for her I honestly think she answered them very truthfully. What I really liked about her responses based on the Union was that she didn’t seem as if she was only looking out for herself. From personal experience I can say she truly cares about her students, unlike other teachers. That was why she believes the Union needs to be reformed because she said it allowed bad teachers to get away with a lot. She also mentions how money isn’t the answer to bettering out education, but that students should be offered an incentive in order to want to perform better. Overall I believe the interview went well with her because we were both on the same page.

-Alex Lopez
Per. 4

EoPMaio said...

I interviewed Mr. Mummert.

1)Do you feel tat our education system is in need of reform?
-Yes, there needs to be a middle ground between tenure and being removed. Teachers shouldnt be based on senority but rather by how they teach.

2)What are your thoughts regaurding NCLB?
-Gets more bad publicity than it deserves. People tend to do better when being watched, and plus theres no negative effect for students.

3)As a teacher, do you feel that your evaluated too much or too little?
-Not enough. I dont have a problem with being evaluated, I was evaluated my 1st 5 years.

4)What are some vrious things that you do to promote learning?
-Ive learned that things i get excited about, doesnt make students excited. So i try to be goofy/entertaining. And be trying to make things revelant for students.

5)Do you feel that students take standardized testing seriously?
-Some do, just like anything else, some are motivated, some arnt. Students probably only take the CASHEE seriously.

6)Do you feel that standardized testing is an appropriate way to test student knowledge?
-Best we have right now. But it is only one way to do it.

7)What educational changes would you like to see made around campus?
-I would like to see special eduation and those who need it to have priority in getting classes. have them take core classes early in the day. And to get students earlier rather then after they get behind.

8)Have you heard of Race to the Top? If so, what are your thoughts on it?
-States give more control to government. States need to be willing to do this, this, and this; not right. But could be a step in the right direction.

9)Do you think that students should be allowed to evaluate their teachers?
-No, to many students its bais on work, borring, and whats liked. Keep things informal.

10)have you ever been bias towards a student in either a positive or negative way?
-Try not to. Ocassional slip. Error on giving kids to many chances.

I enjoyed talking with Mr. Mummert on these questions. I shared many similar thoughts and feelings with him on almost all of my questions. He brought up very many good points and ideas, though we both had the tendency to trail away from the intial question. But then again who doesnt do that? His main point of interest was having to do with teachers, senority, tenure, etc.

-Love
Zach Maio
per.4

janefurdui said...

These are the questions that I used in my interview.

1. What are your thoughts on the tenure policy? Why?
2. Should the students' test scores take part in the teacher evaluations?
3. Is there such thing as a bad teacher?
4. What are your thoughts on the Race to the Top?
5. Are teachers productively using the idea of No Child Left Behind?
6. How can we improve our education system?
7. Is money the problem in our education system? Do we need more money to fix our schools?
8. Does the social economic status of a student take effect on his/her education?

I interviewed my friend Christina Puraci, a kindergarten teacher at Jurupa Vista in the Colton District. Her answers to my questions surprised me and they all led to one thing, that our school systems are turning into a bureaucracy. I never really brought this into consideration. She stated that a solution to our education system would be to give teachers power in their own classrooms or at least keep them involved in the decision making process. People are coming from an office and are telling you what to do. These people have probably never been in a classroom, let alone know how to conduct one. In the Race to the Top, the politicians are telling the teachers how to conduct their classes and teach their kids. Although education reform is taking place, many states pay more money, than what is to be won in the competition, to change their education system. Another response that interested me was that yes, money does play a role in our education system, but the money should only be given to the high-performing schools. It should be a privilege. Why should we reward the low-performing schools for doing so bad? If they haven't been succeeding now, than what is going to change their minds with all that money on their hands? She also stated that she does not thing that students test scores are very useful. She teaches kindergarten so most of her students are immigrants. Parents are taking their kids out of school for months at a time and then just bring them back whenever they want. There is no parental involvement what-so-ever in the students education.

Jane Furdui(:
Period 2

justinee.grace. said...

Interview Questions:
1. Do you think that, in any way, it’s the teachers fault our schools are failing in education?
2. Should teachers be evaluated by their students test scores?
3. Can a test score honestly prove how well a teacher teaches?
4. What is your view on NCLB, is it helpful and effective?
5. Do you think if we had more money , we would be able to improve our education system?
6. Is there anything we could change or make better with our education/ teaching system?
7. Can you really determine whether a student is intelligent or not by their test scores?
8. Is there such thing as a bad teacher?
9. Do you agree with the tenure policy?
10. To what extent do students believe that what they’re learning is relevant to them?


Wow I don’t even know what to say about Mr. Ramaswamy...except the fact that he’s AMAZINGLY intelligent! Beyond my level of knowledge, haha. Most the time I didn’t even understand what he was saying…too many big words for me. But he surely explained it in more detail to me. It was hilarious because he said one of my questions was foolish…he made me cross that question out(haha…make me feel dumb…no worries though…he’s just too smart for me), luckily I had a back up question!!
So his views on education were a little similar in some parts to how I thought of it.
He said that teachers play a large role in student learning, therefore they take a big responsibility in student failure. They need to be there more for their students, helping them as much as possible and motivating them to do the best that they can.
That is very true, although teachers can only do so much for their students…the rest of the work goes to that student and how hard they actually try. They need to put in the effort to go to tutoring, ask for help, do their work/ homework, and try their best.
The teachers need to do their part, but so do the students. He agrees that the NCLB is helpful and effective, but does not give adequate resources. Ramaswamy says that you can’t determine anything on a teacher or student by looking at a students test score. You must examine every test score they’ve taken in the past and see whether they’ve shown improvement or not. That can determine whether the teacher is doing their job correctly or not. And money is not the problem when it comes to education. Even if we had the money, how will that improve teaching and help our education? What we need is better teachers training. We need to create better teaching ways and systems, because obviously as you can see now, kids are learning nothing by the way they are being taught right now. And a lot of what we are being taught in regular classes, you can see, is very much irrelevant to us. But if you were to think about it, the upper level classes, AP classes, put all that useless information to much use. We may think it’s useless, but to them it’s not at all. He thinks we should have more teacher evaluations and a lot more parent meetings. Our families are a big influence to us all, so they put a big effect on the way we think about our own education. But not only do families matter so do the teachers. And we definitely have bad teachers out there, whether they’re poorly trained, have bad communication skills, or just don’t know how to manage a classroom. Communication skills is important when it comes to being a teacher. If your not able to explain something easily, how can you expect your students to learn. And you must also be able to control your students or you’ll never get anything done.
In my opinion Ramaswamy made a good points when it came to the tenure policy.
He thinks it should be extended to maybe 5 years instead of 3 years of evaluation. It should also be renewed every five years that way you can make sure teachers don’t slack off.

Overall I think Ramaswamy made many good points, and even though he made fun of me throughout the whole interview, I enjoyed it, made me laugh.

-Justine Aguilo (:
Period 2

Leo said...

Mrs. Donner answer the following question toward my interview :

1. Do you believe that are school need more technology, so we could have a better education?
Yes, we need more technology, because we need more projectors and smart bores. Those are a big help for a teacher, but that if they give then those type of technology they have to tell then hove to use them, because she say that the one that they put on her room they did not explain her how to use it. So rite now she has a projector, but she does not know how to use it.

2. What material do you think are school needs to improve are teaching and became better?
We need more money, so we could build more classes, like mechanic ect… Therefore, it could help
Us in are future. For the material , that we need more books, so the students should take them home, because she say some of her classes those not had books to take home.

3. What do you beloved when are how class is falling a class? Do you think is the student fault or the teacher and why?
Sometimes is the teacher fault, because the teacher does not explain the concept well or they just do it so fast, that they do not have a chance to learn what is happening. Also sometimes is the student fault because they act sometimes dum or stupid and they do not do their work. They no not turn none of work and then they felt the class.

4. Do you agree on the no child left behind?
Is a good idea, but for that will need a lot of money and we do not have a lot of money rite now.
Also so we could buy more material to archive are goals.

5. Do you believed on Obama’s plan the race of the top?
No, because for that we need a lot of money. Is not fair to just give it it some school and others not.

6. Do you believe that this year we had a god education?
Yes and no, because we have improve a lot on are scores on tests. I believed that many more people would graduate today than the last years. No, because we still need more money to make some changes like on tutorial to pay more teachers so it could help us more.

7. Do you believe that student should evaluate their teacher, why an why not?
Is a good idea, but it will not be fear for us because they are some students that are in mature. That they just will put dum stuff on the evaluation, that will cause teacher get fire.
Is better if an adult should evaluate us.

8. Do you believe that the teacher should also take standards tests like the students so they see how well they are doing too each year?
NO, is not necessary because one time that you take them and pass them that is telling the people that you already know that stuff. We the teacher has to always each year to revise what they have learned before.

9. Do you think money is the solution to solve the education of teaching, why or why not?
The money is important, but the thing that is more important is that to have a better education your parents have to motivate you to come to school, to do well at school, to always do well at school and also that the student is prepared to learn. With all that, you will exceed in college and will have a great future in life.

10. What do you think America could do to fix the education system?
That they should give us more time to teach at each chapter, because sometimes we can teach it well because then we have to take the benchmarks that make us go fast because we have to cover the chapter that they ask there. We have to go fast, if they should just let as do are very slow, I believed are student will learn more.
I got surprise in some question, but it was so interesting so see a point of view from your teacher. I really like the way that Mrs. Donner say that the money is not so important, that the important thing is that the student is prepared to learn.

Leo Cabanas per.4

SLacy222 said...

Interview Questions:
1. How do you feel about education reform today?
2. Do you think tenure is right?
3. How do you feel about the Obama’s push toward education reform?
4. Is the Race to the Top program a good way to improve our API?
5. As you being a teacher, how do you feel our educational system change?
6. Do you think teachers should be evaluated?
7. How do you feel about the NCLB?
8. Is money the solution to fix education?
9. Should students’ tests scores be the deciding factor of evaluating teachers?
10. Do you think President Obama will reform education in a positive direction?

I interviewed my sixth period English teacher and she brought up many excellent points on how we should reform education. One of the items she brought up was that we should charge students for summer school. This really caught my attention because she said that we should have a college-type aspect towards failing a class. She also said that tenure is important for teachers to feel secure but for the truly lazy teachers should be fired. She came up with excellent points and thoughts for what is needed to better our educational system.

Shawn Lacy, P.2

alex_silva4 said...

My interview questions are,
1. Should test scores be used to evaluate teachers?

2. Are standardized test accurate for testing kids?

3. Should schools involve more technology into their learning process?

4. Should it be almost impossible for teachers not to be fired?

5. What do you think about "No Child Left Behind?"

6. Do you think that teachers should be told ahead of time when they will be evaluated? why?

7. Will replacing teachers have an affect of the scores?

8. What is your opinion about our education system?

9. What changes can we make to help our education?

10. What is your opinion on tenure?

I did not interview one of m teacher, but here are my questions that I would have asked her/him if I did interview them.