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Arleen Martin
Teacher Interview
October 17, 2015
Ivy Tech Community College
EDUC101-5AH

Abstract:
As a teacher there are so many different things that need we need to think about in order
to be successful in the classroom. It is important to learn and to watch the way older teachers
teach, so that we can pick ideas to use in our classroom. While doing my teacher interview I
learned an incredible amount about what it takes to become a good teacher. Before doing the
teacher interview project I found myself wondering, what is the true reason I want to become a
teacher? I soon realized that I want to become a teacher because I want to help others, and be
apart of a childs support system. I am using this project as a way to show people that I am
indeed capable of becoming a teacher. When I finally become a teacher I need to remember that I

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too am going to learn new things. These new things are going to apart of me and my teaching
lifestyle forever.
Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank Ms. Donna Ludwig for being the interviewee for this project. She continues
to inspire me, and other students. Her love and passion for education is noticed every time you
walk into her classroom. She truly has a heart for her students. I also would like to thank Ms.
Donna Ludwig for her continuous encouragement, both academically and personally.
*Thank you, Ms. Ludwig for your continuous support, and for helping me become so successful.
I appreciate everything have done for me and all of your other students.*
I would also like to thank Mrs. Melissa Bullerman (Bernier) for letting me use her Ball State
University thesis as a reference for this project. I wouldnt be the writer I am if I didnt have you
to help guide me. You have taught me so much about the importance of the English language.
There were so many times when you let me sit in on your class, so that I would be better
prepared for these type of classes. I also would like to thank Mrs. Melissa Bullerman for her
support and for giving me the opportunities that she has.
*Thank you, Mrs. Bullerman for your support. I learned an exceptional amount from you in the
classroom, as well as from your thesis statement. I appreciate everything that you have done for
me.*
I know for a fact that this project would not have been successful without their encouragement
and support.

As a student I have often wondered what it would be like to have to my own classroom.
How the students would feel about me? Would they like having a teacher that teaches the way I
do? I soon realized that I have nothing to worry about. There are so many teachers that use the
same teaching style that I do. Since I am just out of high school I know the current trends in
education, and I know what a student thinks when they are entering the classroom. I soon
realized that I dont know a lot about the diversity, qualifications, or professionalism that it takes

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in the classroom. Through this project I was able to learn specific details about confidentiality,
diversity, qualifications, and professionalism.

For this project I chose to interview Ms. Donna Ludwig. She has been an educator for
thirty years (D. Ludwig, personal communication, October 16, 2015.) She decided to become a
teacher because she was constantly around it her whole life. Her mother was a local educator,
whom of which taught at Warren High School. Instead of simply following in her mothers
footsteps she decided to test out teaching for herself. During her senior year at North Central
High School, she decided to enter a cadet teaching program. This gave her the opportunity to
work with special needs children for the first time. After completing the cadet teaching program,
she then made the decision to attend college and become a teacher.
For me teaching and helping other students was always a passion of mine. As a young
child, I was always the one who went around and helped others. Even when I was unfinished
with my own work I continuously talked and helped my peers. I soon learned that not all students
learned that same way I did. This made me realize that other students sometimes need to be
taught two to three different ways in order for them to understand what the teacher what trying to
say. This is what sparked my interest. I wanted to be able help children by teaching them
different things. While teaching them these different things I will also teach it in more than one
way. This is to ensure that the student gets the process before moving on to the next topic.
Learning in general is something that very many students struggle with. As a special
education teacher Ms. Ludwig knows this fact better than others. She has taught 4th through 8th
grade special education students the importance of English/Language Arts. She teaches a
variety of students, some of her pull-out classes are self-contained, while some are inclusion

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classes. In order to meet the needs of her students she sometimes teaches inclusion Social Studies
and Science.
As I continue to gain experience in the classroom I am beginning to notice how important
special education teachers are, and also how much they are needed. When I graduate I am hoping
to be able to add on many different licensing attachments, so that I am able to meet the different
needs for my future students. One of them is special education. I am hoping to also add on
middle school English/Language Arts and also ESL. That way I am able to reach kids that have
almost every barrier. There are so many students that are special education and that have an IEP,
yet there are hardly enough teachers to teach them.
Working with self-contained and inclusion classes is a must. These students are students
that can be disruptive and are always going to ask questions. There are always going to be
students that are going to need more attention than the rest. While there are many programs that
can be used in the classroom to help certain students, sometimes it is best to work one-on-one
teacher to student. It can be very frustrating to not be able to understand what is going on in the
classroom. Being a special education teacher and being able to give the children that have
learning disabilities something that a classroom teacher cant is very rewarding.
As a classroom teacher using things like literature circles is something that can be
rewarding to all students. I say this because you can group your students based on how high they
are and how low they are. Literature circles are small organized groups of students reading the
same piece of literature (Bernier). It is important to let students teach their peers, because a
technique that works for them may work for someone else.
It is also very important to make sure that students interact with each other on a regular
basis. A tool that is used in classrooms across the country is Project Based Learning. Using this

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program students are given a scenario and question. At the beginning of the project students need
to come up with a plan of action that best fits the scenario, and also answers the question.
Project Based Learning offers an opportunity to do something different that has greater potential
for engaging learners from the very beginning (PBL Workshop).
When it comes to teaching it is not a job that is made for everyone. This is a job that
requires specific qualifications. The essential qualifications are you have to be organized,
flexible, attable, a sense of humor (D. Ludwig). When you are a teacher you literally LIVE for
your job. You come in early every morning and stay late every night. Donna Ludwig said, You
must be willing to sell your soul to the job (D. Ludwig). I agree with this statement because it
is very true. You must be willing to spend many weekends at the school, to prepare for the
upcoming week. This takes away from your family time, and your socialization time with
friends.
You have to get along with others (D. Ludwig). Although this statement is true for all
professions I believe that it is most important here. When you are a teacher you deal with not
only the students on a regular basis, but parents, other staff members, and administrators. You
need to be a role model to adults and students (D. Ludwig). When you are working as a teacher
students are constantly watching every move you make. They sometimes even tend to correct
you w hen you are wrong. When you work with a group of people, every day Monday through
Friday it is important that you are a role model to them as well. The other staff members will
watch you very closely. Especially if you are a veteran teacher and you have been teaching for a
long time.
In todays society teachers are set to a higher standard. Teachers today are expected to
participate in after school activities, give up their prep time for meetings, and attend numerous

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professional developments (D. Ludwig). As a teacher I want to be able to interact with students
as much as I possibly can. I would be willing to coach sports and be in charge of different clubs.
Although meetings and professional developments tend to be boring and dull, I would be happy
to learn whatever I can so that the my students would learn better. There are so many different
effective ways to teach different subjects that you never know what will work for your students.
The days of even having summers off are long gone (D. Ludwig). We (teachers) go into the
school building so often during the summer because we need to prepare for the upcoming school
year.
There were many summer days that I went into the school to help Ms. Ludwig and Mrs.
Bullerman prepare for the upcoming school year. The sooner Melissa got the Language Arts
article of the weeks copied and latin vocabulary roots printed the more time she got to spend
with her family during the summer. This all comes down to the fact that your classroom and
materials need to be ready by the time the students come back to school. During the summer
Donna teaches me anything and everything she possibly can, from creating your own newsletter
to making precise copies. She ensures that I am well prepared for the education field.
When it comes to confidentiality issues in the classroom there are rules and regulation
guidelines that need to be met. During the day students are going to sometimes misbehave and
have behavioral issues. This means that Ms. Ludwig is going to have to call home and talk to
parents or guardians about their childs behavior. It is important to make sure there are no other
students in the room while calling the parents (D. Ludwig). The only student that should be
present during the phone call is the student whose parent you are calling (D. Ludwig). This is
something that I would use in my classroom because I dont want one student to be talked about
or bullied because other students overheard the conversation that we had with his/her parents. I

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keep a phone log every year, and document the phone calls and conversations with parents (D.
Ludwig). I absolutely agree with this idea because a parent may come to the school and complain
about you and the way you handled a situation. It is important to keep a log and documentation
because your own words could not be used against you.
When it comes to data you should never post test scores, such as I-STEP or Acuity, in the
classroom where other students can see. I agree with this decision because those scores reflect
the students performance in the grade. If the student gets retained in 8th grade because of his test
scores no child should know that information. All Special Ed. IEPs and documents can only be
viewed by specific personnel (D. Ludwig). This keeps other teachers students private and
ensures the safety of your own students. This is important because you dont want another
teacher leaking information out about one of your children.
When you are a teacher communication is the key to a successful parent-teacher
relationship. As Team Leader, I am in constant communication with parents and families (D.
Ludwig). It is important to keep the door open, so that the parents feel comfortable with you.
That way the parents will come to you if they feel that their child is having issues. I contact
home when students are failing classes, having behavior issues, and are showing emotional
struggles. The first person I contact is the students parents to see how the problem can be
resolved (D. Ludwig). I agree with this because you as a teacher know a limited amount of
information. You know what the system says and the student says, so it is important to contact
the parent and ask the important questions.
Our school has a parent-school liaison who is able to make family visits and help with
personal needs of the family (D. Ludwig). A parent-school liaison is someone that does things
such as house visits in order to ensure the safety of the child(ren). If the family is homeless,

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having trouble buying food, or need any other sort of assistance than the parent-school liaison
will help. I try to involve this person when a family has needs that require community
assistance (D. Ludwig). A parent-school liaison is important, especially in our community,
because we live in a high poverty area. Many of the students that I have seen and worked with
tend to wear the same clothes to school. Schools are creating many different programs, so that
the students get enough food for the weekend.
Family teacher partnerships are very important because they help us better understand the
students. At Lynhurst 7th and 8th Grade Center students have the same teachers for 7th and 8th
grade. Each team loops with the students, which helps create a more family like atmosphere.
This partnership tends to start even before the students walk in the door. Each year I send home
a newsletter telling parents about the team and the upcoming Back-To-School event (D.
Ludwig). This is important because we (the teachers) need the parents to know that we are
willing to support their students needs no matter what the situation is. At the Back-To-School
event students are given the opportunity to meet with their future teachers, and go through their
schedule with their parents/guardian (D. Ludwig). This is important because students may have
anxiety and nervousness (D.Ludwig).
October is a very busy time of year for teachers. It is coming to the end of first nine
weeks, and for teachers it means one thing, conferences. At Lynhurst they have student led
conferences. This gives us the opportunity to meet with parents and students to discuss their
behavior, grades, and effort (D. Ludwig). This is important because the students answer all of
the parents questions. It is really led by the student, the teachers are their to answer any
questions the parents may have about their grades or behavior.

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The community in which we live in today is very diverse. This means that Lynhursts
student population is also very diverse. At Lynhurst there are students from all types of cultures,
but that doesnt matter (D. Ludwig). No matter where or how you grow up students dont see
skin color. They see the different personalities of each individual. All students are given the
same opportunities at school no matter what their cultural background (D. Ludwig). Every
student has the opportunity to do the same activity, and participate in the same event. If language
is a barrier, then we have interpreters on hand to translate for the parent/guardian (D. Ludwig).
Many people nowadays can speak both English and Spanish. They are able to translate writing
and speech.
Since Donna has been teaching so long it was interesting to hear her stories about the
beginning of her career in education. The way that culture has impacted the way she teaches was
really fantastic. When I first began teaching the schools in the area were not diverse (D.
Ludwig). The very first couple of years of my life I didnt really experience diversity. I didnt get
to experience different cultures until I started going to school. It was amazing to me how many
different cultures there were even in a tiny little classroom. During my interview with Ms.
Ludwig she talked about how when she first started teaching, busing and desegregation was
mandated by the city government. I remember the kids from Haughville were bussed to Stout
Field from their neighborhoods several miles away (D. Ludwig). This to me was really amazing
because I cant imagine a school nowadays that doesnt have an African-American child. I
noticed that the parents whose children were bussed in had a more difficult time attending
conferences and events at the school (D. Ludwig). I grew up on the outskirts of Haughville. I
know how lucky I am to live the life that I do, and have the life that I had as a child. Even in

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todays society sometimes it is hard for parents to attend conferences because they work two or
three jobs to support their families.
Growing up in Wayne Township for me was an experience that I wouldnt trade for the
world. I got to meet some really great people through my schools. During the past few years,
there has been an explosion of Hispanic kids in Wayne Township (D. Ludwig). I witnessed this
growing up in the community. Many of my close friends were of the Hispanic culture, and I soon
realized that it was sometimes hard for them to understand.
Students nowadays are going to sometimes have the inability to speak English, and
teachers need to be aware that their students will not always be able to understand what is going
on. A major obstacle (and sometimes frustration) with teaching the Hispanic students is the
language barrier between parents and teachers (D. Ludwig). The ratio of Hispanic students to
interpreters is very high. During conference time I noticed that it is frustrating for a lot of
teachers because they can not support their Hispanic students. I have noticed that the Hispanic
parents are very supportive and want the best for their children, but are often intimidated by
school personnel because they can not communicate their needs (D. Ludwig). This is exactly
why I want to get my ESL license and learn spanish. It is important to let the Hispanic parents
know that we support them just like they support us.
Through this project I have learned about how important it is to learn how to meet the
needs of every single one of your students. This is why I am hoping to get so many additions to
my teaching license, so that I am able to accommodate the needs of all or most of my students.
There are so many students now that are struggling to learn, and we need them to know that its
okay. Its okay to struggle to learn, but with me by your side as your teacher I am going to be
able to help make this right. Confidentiality is something that is there to protect our students, and

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it is not something that can be joked around and missed with. Diversity is something that will
always be apart of our country, and it is something that we as a community are learning to deal
with. Also we as teachers are learning what each individual student needs in order to be
accommodated, whether its self-enclosed or inclusion pull out with the special education teacher
or getting help by the ESL teacher with spanish. Every students mind works differently, and
thats okay because we are going to continue to come up with more programs like Project Based
Learning that teaches students how to work together effectively.

Works Cited

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Bernier, M. (2008). A Field Guide to Literature Circles in the 7-12 Classroom. 2-2. Retrieved
October 17, 2015, from file:///home/chronos/u18a18a732f0ca12daf9957f7a1c44f14187da1af/Downloads/B475_2008BernierMelissa (1).pdf
PBL Workshop 2010 at Ben Davis H.S. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2015.