Each and every student has their own story, and every story is worth hearing. That is why when assigned to interview a student, I elected to interview five. For each interview I heard a dramatically different story and was enlightened as to the struggles and triumphs experienced by sixth grades. I intentionally selected students I anticipated would have very different experiences to discuss, and I am glad that I did. I interviewed two males, three females, two African American students, one Latina, two Caucasian individuals, and one special ed. student. The variety of responses I received for each of my questions made me further realize that the personal identity students bring into the classroom majorly affects their experience there.
Tamara
My first interview was with Tamara. She was very uncertain of herself. She answered as many questions with ‘I don’t know’ as she did with any other response. She could not come up with any words to describe herself, and she rarely gave a response to a question beyond ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ I did find out that she lives in a trailer with her mom and dad and older sister. She also has two brothers who are also older, but she does not know where they live or with whom. They only visit her family every two weeks and she said they are both mean to her. Her life primarily revolves around her family’s life and all of the music, movies, and television shows she likes she watches or listens to with her mom. She spends more time with her mom than anyone else, and when asked what she would do with one million dollars, she told me that she would give most of it to her mom and spend only a little on herself to buy new pants. Tamara is completely responsible for doing all of her own homework, which appears to be a challenge for her because she does not like to read. She enjoys math, because, in her words, ‘it is fun.’ Though she was eager to help me out when I asked, she was reluctant to share anything with me about herself during the interview. I found in her interview, and in the subsequent four, that sixth grade students struggle with issues concerning their own identity until asked questions indirectly about what and who they like. Their understanding of their preferences is keener than their understanding of themselves.
Charles
Charles, my subject for the second interview, was the most comfortable talking about himself, but he still had a loose conception of his own identity. He described himself ‘friendly, nice, kind, [and] athletic.’ His last descriptor ended up best describing him. He plays on a soccer team through the school district and loves watching wrestling on TV. Even the videogames that he enjoys to play are sports related. This is not a feature he shares with his family, however. Even though he admitted to spending more time with his mom and dad than anyone else, his parents do not enjoy the sports-related activities that he does. He also lives with his younger sister and since he can remember his grandmother has lived at his house. He has always lived in the same school district and overall he likes school.
Sarah and Chelsea
My next two interviewees were too nervous to interview with me by themselves, so I conducted a double interview with them to ease their concerns. Their names were Sarah and Chelsea, two best friends from class. They actually had quite a bit in common, which helped the double interview run smoothly. Both girls described themselves as shy, which explains their reluctance to interview alone. Chelsea said that she was ‘shy [and] honest’ while Sarah said she was ‘shy and athletic.’ Both girls play a slew of sports including volleyball, gymnastics, cross country, and horseback riding. They both like to eat and sleep, and that is most of what they do at home since they are both so busy. Chelsea lives with her two older brothers, an older sister and her mom, while Sarah lives with her older brother and her mom and dad. Sarah’s family moves every four years because her father is in the military, so she was born in Hawaii, she lived in North Dakota, and they will be moving again next year. Chelsea only moved once and it was before she can remember. Both girls spend a significant amount of time with their families. They both also like to read. Their favorite subjects are art and music, and they wish more of what they liked could be incorporated into their social studies classrooms. They like being creative and they feel that they don’t get a chance to express themselves often in their core classes. Because of their similarities, this double interview progressed seamlessly, and I was able to get to know both students.
Final Thoughts
From all of these students, I learned that the aspects of their identity inherited from their families are the most important. Each sixth grade student admitted to spending more time with family than friends, and among their family members they spend the most amount of time with their parents. This just goes to show what an influence their parents can have on their lives, and by extension, their education. None of them said that social studies was their favorite subject, but I got insights into their minds as to why and how that can change. From their interviews, I gathered that integrating social studies with other subjects would be the best way to engage these students. They want hands on activities in their regular classrooms and they want an outlet for their creative ability. There is a way to include all of these aspects into the social studies class, and it would be well worth the effort to do so if it means engaging more students in the social studies curriculum. The classroom should be fun, and that was their main complaint about the classes they did not enjoy, including social studies. I also learned that every student had some kind of text that they preferred, even if it was not a book. They may have only discussed books when asked about texts, but they almost all admitted to liking movies or TV, which can be easily added as a text into the classroom. Most students prefer visual stimulation, especially at that age, and there are numerous resources available to do just that. From these interviews, I learned about students’ preferences for activities and how they like to be engaged in the classroom, and though I found this information enlightening, it was not the most powerful thing that I will take away from this interview experience. What I will remember is that every student has a different story, and you will never know it unless you ask. So, ask .
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