Interviews

Mrs. Der Interview

By Emma Chung and Noella Lee

1.How many students do you have in your class?

2. How are you dealing with teaching both fifth grade classes at the same time?

Fine.

3. What is it like teaching 34 kids?

Not bad.

4. What is the biggest challenge about teaching so many fifth graders?

The amount of papers I have to correct on weekends.

5. Do you prefer teaching a bigger class or a smaller class?

Either or as long as they’re good kids like the ones I have now.

6. How was the transition from a small class to a bigger one?

Minor especially because I had these kids last year

7. What is it like not having a fellow teacher teaching the same grade as you?

Lonely.

8. What’s it like teaching all the subjects by yourself?

Well the only edition is history and it’s

interesting incorporating history in life. I also

can say that math is better.

Interviewing Mrs. Phillips

By Kaylie Wong

What grades do you teach? 5-8 science
Do you miss teaching 5th grade? Yes. I love teaching history. The fifth grade field trip to Angel Island was always a highlight of the year, and I’m sure I’ll miss that experience when May comes.
Do you like teaching science more or 5th grade? Science is really fun, and I enjoy doing all the experiments. The two subjects are so different that it is hard to pick a favorite.
What’s better: Teaching several grades or 5th grade? I like having a homeroom of students that I saw everyday. Nobody comes to me with book recommendations now that I am the science teacher.
How many students do you teach in total? 177!
Is it tough teaching so many students? If so what the hardest part about it? I need to stay really organized to make sure that I remember what I did with each class.
How did you prepare to teach science? Did you have previous knowledge about the curriculum or did you study a lot about what you were going to teach? I have taken classes over summer and the school year to learn how to teach science again. It has been 18 years since I taught it, so I had to go back over the topics to refresh my memory this summer.
Did you have experience previously teaching science? I taught 7th grade science in Lincoln, California.
Was it difficult switching to only science? Any time you switch subjects, you have to learn a whole new job. This year was a lot of work, but next year will be so much fun because I will know what to expect.

St. Anne Newspaper