1/12 Interview with Mrs. Amy Carpenter

My essential question for my end of the year project is: How does the child's psychological development affect their ability to learn and interact in school?  

So I have a few questions regarding the topic:

1.     How many years have you been teaching? 17 years

2.     What made you decide you want to teach?  I have known I wanted to teach since I was in third grade and always played school with a classroom set up in my basement. 

3.     Why’d you decide to teach second grade? Second graders love to learn and want to please their teacher.  This age of children are definitely sponges that listen to everything their teachers say.  This is also a critical age that students usually show a lot of growth in reading and are bridging from “Learning to Read to Read to Learn”. I enjoy getting to be a part of this time in a child’s life.

4.     With knowing the student and their situations at home, do you see children with harder lifestyles struggle more in class? Many times these children do not come prepared for school.  Also, they may not practice reading, math facts, etc. at home.  They do not get the extra practice needed and others do.  Also, these children may come emotionally needy or the complete opposite and are withdrawn.  These children may have difficulty trusting and it is my goal to build trust with these boys and girls.  My classroom students know it is a safe environment and they are loved. 

5.     Do those certain children need more help developing psychologically?  Some of these students do suffer from anxiety, insecurity, and/or may act out for attention.  These students usually need more reassurance and help building his/her self-confidence.  I try to always build friendships, trust, and respect in my classroom to help students always feel safe in my classroom.

6.     How do those children’s grade differ from those who have a simpler life at home? With all the “baggage” the children may bring to school, often these children may not always care about putting forth the effort they are capable of in his/her classwork.  The lack of motivation and effort may cause their grades to suffer

7.     The students that are behind in those crucial developmental stages, are they less prepared for school? Some of these students aren’t prepared for school and may not be able to put complete focus on school.  There is no telling what some boys and girls have dealt with in the morning before school and/or the night before. All the extra “baggage” can cause these children to be less prepared for school.

8.     Referring to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, can you tell when a student’s basic needs are not being met? If so, what are your steps as a teacher to correct or help the situation?  I cannot always tell if a student’s needs are being met, but if I do I will act.  I always report to our school counselor any concerns that I may see or that students tell me.  We will do anything we can to offer the family help and resources they may need. 

9.      How quickly can a student who is ahead developmentally, fall behind do to a event happening in the child’s life, such as death in the family or parent’s divorcing?   These students may suffer from lack of motivation and may not even care about school causing him/her to fall quickly behind.  It is my job while I have these students to help them get through the unfortunate events that they shouldn’t have to deal with as such a young student.