The Interview: Questions and brief answers

Marcia M. Pearce
LLL Program at Fordham University
Title of Study: Examination of Democratic Values and Practices in the Classroom
CTGE 7194: Qual. Inquiry

The Interview

How do teachers define democratic education?
Kids have said. Elected classroom leader based on the majority.
Respect for all. Students can neg. classroom rules. Not too much power, teacher has veto. Rules and regulations will be enforce and discuss on a regular basis. Review behavior that is deemed dangerous.

What are the classroom practices of teachers who espouse democratic beliefs?
Students should have input on most classroom activities. Discuss activities and assignment related to students’ culture.

Does being a Hispanic male first and a teacher second, affect my delivery of instruction?
Yes, it does. I can see the class work from a different perspective. Stop teaching history, because Hispanics are not in the book.

Does a teacher’s gender have an impact on classroom instruction?
Tell me about…your first experience as a teacher.
Yes, why—a different point of view because of gender. Case in point—lesson on date rape—a man will see it differently than a female
No professional development on teaching at-risk kids—Working with this population requires an extra effort—The social and emotion problems that these students bring to the classroom need to be address immediately.

Participant: Hispanic Male teacher

Brief Reflection--This interview process was nonthreatening due to the fact that I know this teacher. He is an experienced educator(lots of respect from students) with lots of knowledge about American History and mathematics. Students in his class work well together due to the democratic feel of the learning environment. The IRB process I believe will be different because most of the school environment is not welcoming to research. I lucked out this time.