Teacher Interview

https://youtu.be/I1xinHND4_s

Teacher Interview- Lauren Sandeno

25 May 2020

Reflection:

I have known Lauren Sandeno for about four years of my life now. She came into my life when I was a junior in high school and was the wife of the youth pastor at my new church. From the beginning she has shown me what it looks like to love others well. She displayed that, in a new light, during this interview.

In the years that I have known her, we have not had many conversations about teaching. And yet, knowing Lauren, I was not surprised at all by the responses she had in this interview. She has taught me many things about life and faith, and many things about teaching as well.

Class Management Philosophy:

It was very exciting and reassuring to hear Lauren talk about her classroom management philosophy as the topics that I had discussed in my blog post. Lauren talked about knowing her students and the importance of keeping them engaged. She noted the importance of knowing each of your students and who they are and where they come from. This came into play in two specific instances in the interview: discipline and behavior. When I asked Lauren about her strategies for behavior she noted that it really depends on the student for her. She commented about how for one student, the behaviors may be common and their may be certain steps or actions put in place. But for another, a negative behavior may be caused by an outside circumstance. A little later in the interview (possibly after I stopped recording) we talked about how sometimes, the mad that young students display that results in poor behavior is actually sadness from other circumstances. A student may have been having a bad moment and needs to be talked to, or a student may have a bad home life and be going through a tough time. Lauren gave an example of sometimes when a student is throwing chairs or making poor choices, you can talk to that student, a realize that “their mom is a single mom working four jobs and the student got himself ready for school and to school alone and hasn’t eaten”, Lauren said in those instances, you forget the behaviors and give the kid a big, big hug.

I think the most important thing that I learned was the real life example of how important classroom relationships are. When you know the students and their behaviors and life, you can learn the best way to approach all of the behaviors they bring. And when negative behaviors occur, have conversations with them and get to the bottom of the behavior. Figure out the “why” as the book states. And then, you can have a classroom that can be fun and engaging for all.

 Setting Expectations:

Lauren has been teaching art class to students for fifteen years, she has loved so many students and made her classroom a safe space. As a mom to four young girls, she works hard to be a role model to so many. When asked about classroom expectations at the beginning of the year and after, Lauren talked about coming alongside the students to create those expectations. When the students help create them. They understand their importance and meaning. She also noted something that I had not thought about. Students look to their teacher as a leader. When gaining respect of students, it is important to give clear expectations and then follow through with them. She reminded me that “students do really want you to be in charge, and they do really want you to have great control of your classroom. They don’t want you to be super fun and silly all the time because then they don’t trust you to take care of them.”

I think that was something I needed to hear. I love to have fun with kids and be silly with them. I don’t always like consequences that will be upsetting. But sometimes, this can lead to students who do not always listen. There was a time when one of the sassy, little girls I babysit told me something along the lines of “Kayla you can’t be silly all the time and then expect us to listen to you when you’re serious”. She was SIX. And really, she was not wrong. So I think Lauren has a good point. Part of being a good teacher means following through with expectations and what you say.

Best Advice:

When I asked Lauren for advice on classroom management, she offered me advice on some classroom systems that she believes do and do not work. For instance, she discusses the idea of not punishing the whole class for the actions of three or four students. Being fair to the students is important. Along those lines we talked about not using behavior systems that require the students walking across the room to moving a clip or flip a card; something that is so public and can be embarrassing for students. We also talked about new technology that allows parents to connect with their student’s work instantly.

Overall, I learned a lot about what it means to be a teacher and to care for your students. Both Lauren, the textbook, my Trinity proffessors, and several other books and sources all point to two important common principles for managing a class full of students: keep the students engaged in what they are doing, and really get to know and love your students for who they are.