Teacher Interview and Classroom Observation When I interviewed the teacher at Sharpstein Elementary School and made some

observations it taught me positive ways of viewing real life scenarios in the classroom setting. I was very interested in interviewing a dual class and decided to ask a teacher who taught 2nd and 3rd grade. She taught very well and had many teaching skills that are required for an effective teacher. The teacher I interviewed asked many questions and was willing to help everyone who needed help. She had many good qualities that were admiring and inspirational. The dual class had a mixture of Hispanics and white Americans that were required to only speak Spanish in the class. I think the dual program has many benefits that will help students develop their native language or second language. Dual language education programs integrate native English speaking students with native Spanish speaking students which are presented in both languages. The students are therefore given the opportunity to become fluent in both languages. At the beginning of the class her students sat in the front of the classroom on the carpet. After she explained the objective of the class she asked questions to make sure her students understood. Many students had questions and were answered with good feedback. When students answered correctly she gave them points for their group. When a student is having trouble on answering a question she helps them through each step until they answer and understand the topic. I think she did a great job on organizing ahead of time what she planned to do for that day. Her students got to the class and right away she was teaching them what a bar graph is useful for and where to properly put the labels at. She also gave each student a label to place at the bar graph and that made it easier for the students to learn how to use a bar graph. Furthermore the organizational skills were excellent.

The tone of voice was very calm and firm and that made it reasonable for the students to understand her. She used a very soft ring bell to ask when students needed to be quiet and the students seemed to obey that particular sound. She was a Spanish speaking teacher and therefore was excellent at teaching both languages. She had many techniques that engage students to pay attention and involved. Children who were well behaved got a reward and had the opportunity to seat in their chair while their classmates were being asked questions. Every student were assigned in four different groups: EWU, WWCC, UOW, Gonzaga. They earn points by speaking Spanish, being respectful, obeying, and participating. She also has many posters for how to do something such as raising their hand before speaking, not going to the restroom if its not an emergency, and respecting others. She did a great job on lesson clarity, she explain concepts in a way that students can follow in a logical step-by-step order. She spend more classroom time teaching academic subjects as opposed to attendance or spending time on other things such as handing out papers or collecting homework. Another effective behavior she had was that she wanted her students to success in life and increase academic performance. She had a great understanding that todays students have special needs and are cultural diverse. There was a boy who had difficulty pronouncing words in Spanish but the teacher took time and made him repeat the words until he was able to pronounce them. That impressed me because his classmates were cheering and letting him know that he can do it. I learned so much from this teacher, she was delightful. I learned that you need patience and always respect every kid and be a positive role model. Her philosophy was to treat others equally no matter the circumstances. Educate them as much and when they need extra time to understand be willing to adjust. Learning goals she had were for students to reach their highest

potential and help them follow the right path. She thought that the most effective methods for teaching were classroom management, have everything prepared before class and have an objective for the day. She tries to focus on one thing at a time because she doesnt want her students to get confused. She believes that a teachers role should be professional, knowledgeable, and be willing to stay longer to find ways for students to improve. I thought her philosophy was like she said, and I really admired how her students loved her and listen to whatever she said and asked. I loved her teaching and how good she was to her students because she engaged all of them and involved everyone. She treated everyone equally and never misused improper words. Overall, I thought the dual class was awesome and seemed like the students admired her, most part of it was because she was very polite and very caring. I personally remember when I was learning English as a second language at my elementary school and was scolded whenever I spoke Spanish. I was even taken into detention when I spoke Spanish. Since those experiences I started to speak mainly English, even at my home with my other siblings. I started to lose my Spanish accent and now I have even difficulties when I go to Mexico and become emerged with my cousins, they dont understand very well my Spanglish. I only wish that dual programs could emerge everywhere, because that would give a better opportunity to kids not to lose their language roots.