Student Interview
Student 1
Do you like reading?
Yeah, I love it!
What do you like about reading?
My favorite part is you get to find new vocabulary and learn new things. If it’s fiction you get to have fun with it.
What kinds of books do you read?
All kinds. I like any books!
Do you have books at home?
Yes! I love to read them!
Do you read at home?
Yeah we have shelves and shelves of books!
Do you like writing?
I do!
What do you like about writing?
I love to make up stories!
What things do you write?
I like writing fantasy and fables and sometimes plays
Do you write at home?
Yeah I like to write plays and treasure hunts for my brothers. I like to write in my journal. I put my thoughts in there.
When you write at school, what do you write about?
We wrote a biography. Sometimes I write about what we are doing in school.
Student 2
Do you like reading?
No.
Why not?
Because it takes a lot of time to start reading and our teacher says we have to think while we’re reading.
What kinds of books do you read?
I like Junie B. Jones.
Do you have books at home?
No. We had to give away a lot of our books.
Do you read at home?
My mom forces me to read at home but sometimes I’ll put her phone in the book instead.
Do you like writing?
Yes
What do you like about writing?
Making up stories is fun.
What things do you write?
I’m writing a story about chocolate and coffee
Do you write at home?
No, not really.
When you write at school, what do you write about?
Most of the time we write about synonyms and antonyms. I’m really looking forward to writing poems
Do you like reading?
Yeah, I love it!
What do you like about reading?
My favorite part is you get to find new vocabulary and learn new things. If it’s fiction you get to have fun with it.
What kinds of books do you read?
All kinds. I like any books!
Do you have books at home?
Yes! I love to read them!
Do you read at home?
Yeah we have shelves and shelves of books!
Do you like writing?
I do!
What do you like about writing?
I love to make up stories!
What things do you write?
I like writing fantasy and fables and sometimes plays
Do you write at home?
Yeah I like to write plays and treasure hunts for my brothers. I like to write in my journal. I put my thoughts in there.
When you write at school, what do you write about?
We wrote a biography. Sometimes I write about what we are doing in school.
Student 2
Do you like reading?
No.
Why not?
Because it takes a lot of time to start reading and our teacher says we have to think while we’re reading.
What kinds of books do you read?
I like Junie B. Jones.
Do you have books at home?
No. We had to give away a lot of our books.
Do you read at home?
My mom forces me to read at home but sometimes I’ll put her phone in the book instead.
Do you like writing?
Yes
What do you like about writing?
Making up stories is fun.
What things do you write?
I’m writing a story about chocolate and coffee
Do you write at home?
No, not really.
When you write at school, what do you write about?
Most of the time we write about synonyms and antonyms. I’m really looking forward to writing poems
Reflection
After interviewing several students, I came to a sad conclusion. The less privileged the student is, the less motivated they become. I had a wide range of students in my clinical classroom this semester, which was a really good experience for me.
Since I was given the freedom of creating my own questions for my student interviews, I decided to focus on whether my students enjoyed reading and writing or not. I interviewed several of my students to get a good sample and then decide to focus on two ends of the spectrum. I had a student from a fairly well off family and a student from a not so well off family. Both students were girls, but they didn’t really hang out in the same circles. The student whose family had more money liked reading and writing and had many resources to work with for both. The other student was not motivated to read or write and did not have very many resources for reading and writing other than school provided. The student who had more resources was very excited about reading and writing. She was very open and wanted to discuss what she was reading and writing. The second student was not excited and didn’t have much to share with me. She did have a bit more enthusiasm for writing. I think that was because resources for writing are much more manageable for her family to purchase.
It’s really sad when a student doesn’t have a love for a subject because they don’t have resources. I think every student should have the same access to books at home as they do at school. When I was growing up, there were easily hundreds of books in my house. Even to this day, I am always finding a new book to read. It is really difficult for me to understand how students don’t have the resources I had when I was growing up. I know that we can’t afford to buy books for all of our students on a teacher’s salary, but I do think that there is more that we can do to encourage family involvement in a students reading and writing. I am a firm believer that family involvement is crucial for most students’ success.
While it was difficult for me to empathize with the second student, I was able to see that that is a common problem we have in schools every day. I hope that the things I have taken from this interview will help me to motivate and encourage my students to be good, strong readers when I have my own classroom.
Since I was given the freedom of creating my own questions for my student interviews, I decided to focus on whether my students enjoyed reading and writing or not. I interviewed several of my students to get a good sample and then decide to focus on two ends of the spectrum. I had a student from a fairly well off family and a student from a not so well off family. Both students were girls, but they didn’t really hang out in the same circles. The student whose family had more money liked reading and writing and had many resources to work with for both. The other student was not motivated to read or write and did not have very many resources for reading and writing other than school provided. The student who had more resources was very excited about reading and writing. She was very open and wanted to discuss what she was reading and writing. The second student was not excited and didn’t have much to share with me. She did have a bit more enthusiasm for writing. I think that was because resources for writing are much more manageable for her family to purchase.
It’s really sad when a student doesn’t have a love for a subject because they don’t have resources. I think every student should have the same access to books at home as they do at school. When I was growing up, there were easily hundreds of books in my house. Even to this day, I am always finding a new book to read. It is really difficult for me to understand how students don’t have the resources I had when I was growing up. I know that we can’t afford to buy books for all of our students on a teacher’s salary, but I do think that there is more that we can do to encourage family involvement in a students reading and writing. I am a firm believer that family involvement is crucial for most students’ success.
While it was difficult for me to empathize with the second student, I was able to see that that is a common problem we have in schools every day. I hope that the things I have taken from this interview will help me to motivate and encourage my students to be good, strong readers when I have my own classroom.