Summary Of Teachers & Students Interviews

We interviewed two teachers, and ten students. one was Dr. Lucus and the other was done via email with Mr. Ahn, a math teacher from Fraser Heights Secondary. Most of the students interviewed were my tutoring students from Riverside Secondary and Centennial Secondary.

To start the interview, the greatest challenges, for new teachers, are usually classroom management and politics. Their lack of confidence to demand respect, fear of being disliked, and thus the attempt to be friends with the students often rise problems in classroom management. "As a teacher you have to believe that ultimately children want to learn," and "if the students respect you, they will eventually like you." An example regarding politics would be the constant argument among teacher, children, and parents about the score students want as they do not deserve it. A student would go home to his parents and say that he deserved 95% on a test but got only 93%, and the parents then would go to school, tell the principal, and have the principal to "discuss" with the teacher about the score. In teaching math or any subjects, a teacher needs to be well prepared not only in mastery of curriculum and background concept of the subject, but also some inquiries irrelevant to the subject, personal inquiry for example. As we went on and asked of the use of lesson plans, Dr. Lucus especially stated that a well scheduled and detailed lesson plan is not necessary. A check list containing a list of what is to be covered during a class is sufficient. He also uses assignment and quiz to evaluate the students' level and change the pace of his teaching. While evaluating students, both teachers agreed that students should work to meet a certain standard. Such standard is set in order for them to continue and advance studying. It does not have to be the common standard set by school. Sometimes, setting the bar lower can help encourage students to study better. However, once the bar is set, all students are required to pass it to go on. Interestingly but not surprisingly, most teachers prefer teaching senior students to junior ones. As weaker students drop out over years, teachers know that students are more willing to learn and that they can focus more on the subject matter. Teachers can also concentrate more on passing their knowledge rather than having to deal with behavior issues, which usually occur in junior students.

From the result of the interview, most students think that math is "something they need to get over with". They take math because it is required to graduate, and so they can apply for post-secondary school, whether they actually like math. On top of trying to understand the concept, most students have difficulty trying to understand the language of math problems. A student had " to read a problem at least five times to get" what the problem really means. In regardless, most students agree that math is important as it applies to daily lie experience and it helps develop logical thinking and problem solving skills. They also think that, with one exception, everyone can do math. Surprisingly, even though they think math teachers can affect their grades as "they can either make you or break you", most of them find their teachers do not care about them at all. Of course, there are still teachers who care. "My math teacher does care about my grades and of everyone else in class. He tries different methods to help everyone with different learning paces to understand the material."