Interview Questions Revisited

I've started interviewing for jobs, and I'm realizing I'm not very good at it.  I'm much more comfortable actually teaching in a classroom with kids than I am discussing my methods and philosophies on teaching with potential employers.  Needless to say, I could use more practice. It's hard to describe the way I prefer to teach.  My methods are dependent the individuals I'm working with.  That's not to say I'm not a believer in routine, or a well defined pedagogy.  I am acutely aware of the need for structure and routine embedded in the school day.  There is certainly an element of comfort and safety in the reliability of routine.  However, granting a certain amount of choice to students is essential, since choice makes room for independence.

I debated whether or not to send this follow-up essay to an interviewer I met last week.  I've been told time and time again to keep my words to a minimum, but I decided that potential employers have a right to know who I am, and understand my ways if they are truly interested.

Dear _________,

I don't know if this is completely against the rules, but as long as I've said I'm a reflective educator, I might as well prove it.  I've been thinking a lot about three of your questions you asked during my interview, and after some time to digest them, I believe my better thought out responses really connect these three questions together, even though they seem very separate.

1. How would you teach reading to a student who has been diagnosed with dyslexia?

2. How would you manage well-meaning, and sometimes confrontational parent volunteers in your classroom?

3. How would you structure your class time?

1. How would you teach reading to a student who has been diagnosed with dyslexia?

To begin, as I said during the interview, I’m not an expert in learning disabilities or dyslexia, but given the research I've read, I believe it's very likely that incidents of reading difficulties would be fewer if children were given choice and individualized support in their reading/writing materials.  There are many things that contribute to reading problems: social and cultural factors, poverty, language issues, lack of literacy experiences, inadequate reading instruction, and various individual differences. (Allington & Cunningham, 1996). All readers, struggling to avid, can be taught how to best select text they are able to read with fluency using a variety of reading strategies.  

Richard Allington, a leading researcher in reading intervention instruction, states that an independent-level or good-fit book for children is one they can read with 99% accuracy (Allington 2006).  Based on research-based best practices for classroom literacy instruction, I believe it is essential to spend focused classroom time teaching readers to choose books that are a good fit for them, books they enjoy and that, as Rout man (2004) says in her book Reading Essentials, "seem custom-made for the child (p. 93).  Simply put, it is essential to teach children that one of the most important things to do to become a better reader is to read a good-fit book. Matching text and strategies to readers (and writers) that they connect to and make meaning from is the most important component of any literacy program.  

2. How would you manage well-meaning, and sometimes confrontational parent volunteers in your classroom?

 I believe any well-meaning parent can learn how best to support young readers and writers.  There are several positive guiding questions that students can be asked during a reading or writing conference that can be easily modeled for parent participants to deliver while assisting students in the classroom.  If parents see and feel successful reading and writing happening in a classroom community, they will be intrinsically motivated to contribute to what is working.  As a teacher, I'd like to foster a classroom community in which reading, writing, and self-monitored independence are closely tied together for each student and participating member in the classroom.  Furthermore, it is important for parents to know that I am authentically invested in their children as individuals.  The more I know about my students' backgrounds, the better I am able to help them in class.  A simple tool I found useful for this is the Student Information Survey in Frank Serafini's book, The Reading Workshop (2001).  The following questions (p. 121) help initiate a comfortable "getting to know your child" rapport with parents:

1. What hobbies or special interests does your child have?

2. What does your child like to read or write at home?

3. What would you like to see developed more this year in your child?

4. What things as a parent do you feel I should know about your child?

This survey can be included in a work-in-progress student portfolio along with several other assessment tools I'd like to use such as observational records, checklists, literature response logs, teacher-student conference notes, retellings, miscue analysis or running records, writing samples and reflective journals. 

During the interview, I noticed the teachers at your school preferred to address students who are reading below grade level as "reluctant" readers rather than "struggling readers."  Of course this is really a matter of semantics, but I prefer the term "struggling" because it sounds like they are at least trying.  A struggling reader may simply be a reader who has not yet discovered text they feel meaningfully connected to. Or perhaps they are not yet familiar with using a variety of reading strategies good readers already use such as: 

·      Back-up and reread

·      Self-check for understanding:  Does it look right?   Does it sound right?  Does it make sense?

·      Using context clues to plug in something they know makes sense in place of a word they don't know

3. How would you structure your class time?


This week I finished reading The Daily 5: Fostering Literacy Independence by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser (2006).  I'd like to try organizing a classroom period around the daily 5 research-based literacy-building tasks discussed in their book (p. 11):

Read to Yourself  

The best way to become a better reader is to practice each day, with books self-selected text at a just-right reading level.  It soon becomes a habit.

Read to Someone

Reading to someone allows for more time to practice strategies, helping build fluency and expression, supports comprehension and promotes sharing in the learning community.

Work on Writing

Just like reading, the best way to become a better writer is to practice writing each day.

Listen to Reading (teacher read-alouds, student read alouds, books on tape, podcasts)

Listening to reading models examples of good literature and fluent reading.  It also builds vocabulary and develops skills for better reading and writing.

Spelling/ Grammar/ Word Work

Working on activities specifically designed to practice correct spelling and grammar allows for more fluent writing, thus speeding up the ability to get ideas written in print.  This is an essential foundation for writers.

I am also willing to be flexible, and I believe it is essential to meet with students frequently to discuss what is working, and what is not.  When students are provide with choice and they feel a sense of purpose for the skills they are building, they are much more likely to be engaged in their work, and motivated to deliver their best effort.  Furthermore, students cannot become better readers and writers, meet academic standards, and develop a love for reading and writing when they are only given a few minutes per day to do it.  If we are instructing so much that students don't get a chance to read and write, or if we consider working in a workbook reading time, then we are not giving them enough time to become better readers and writers.

Thank you for the opportunity to interview with you last week.  Please know that after our meeting, I am even more enthusiastic about this potential opportunity.

Sincerely,

Tegan Zimmerman Henry

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