A Professional Interview

1. By:
Jennifer Lewis

2.  Julia Baxter
 University: SUNY ( State University of New York) –
Oneonta
4 year school
Located in a small Upstate New York
 Title: Early Field Experience Supervisor
 Department: Education Advise & Field Experience
 She has worked at the college for 10 years, but also
worked in areas schools as a school councilor.
 She places students in their methods classes and makes
sure they have the required 100 hours of classroom
experience to continue on with their program.
 She also teaches a couple of course in school counseling at
the college.

3.  Working with students who want to pursue a
career in teaching.
 They are full of a life and energy that is
contagious.
 Being able to be back in an elementary
classroom occasionally. (She misses working with the
little ones and all the love they show.)
 Watching my students graduate.
 Learning through and working with students who
are struggling with something and helping them
through the struggle and the victory that
happens when they have overcome that
obstacle.

4.  Placing students seems like an easy
experience, however it isn’t so easy. There
are a number of them and only 10 area
schools that are willing to work with the
students to place them for their method
classes.
 Having to confront a student who has done
very poorly in their methods experience and
talk with them. Is teaching the “career” for
them? Or having to tell them that they have
to repeat the experience because they did
poorly in the placement.

5.  Many! Students are required to have more
hours in the classroom to be able to continue
in their education.
 The requirements of the state have changed
and students are required to obtain more to
“prove” they are qualified to teach.
 Students have changed too, still female
dominated, but many more men are going
into teaching.
 Demands of the college are more rigorous to
keep up with the state!

6.  BE ORGANIZED! Organization is the key to
keeping up and staying afloat! “I cannot tell
you how important that one little detail is.”
 Challenge your students, they are looking for
that in their instructors.
 Don’t be afraid to question and ask why.
 Be Prepared for anything!
 Be Compassionate, remember your students
are people too with lives.
 To Get Respect, Give Respect!
 HAVE FUN!!

7. They are So Different Yet also very similar….
 Younger:
 More loving
 More compliant
 Take you at face value
 Listen
* Talking to them is like
opening a book and
there it is. They don’t
always filter info, and
that is great!
 Older:
 Like a challenge
 Question you about
everything.
 Less compliant
 Act first think later
 Have layers of learning
 When you capture their
attention they are
yours!

8.  The information I have learned and the
information she provided me where very
similar.
 I like the idea about students want a
challenge!
 I like that Bloom’s Taxonomy is still present
through out our learning.
 I see a shift coming about allowing for more
self directed learning with guidance from the
instructor.
 Being organized and prepared!

9.  Julia informed me that one of the best things
about teaching older students is that they
are there because they want to be and that
is very motivational!
 Students who understand that education is a
privilege work hard and obtain their goals,
when they think of it as anything else, they
take the experience for granted, some
survive, some barely make it and others just
cannot keep up and have to choose a
different direction. “That is just plain SAD!”