My Interview with Kimberly Stout & Gretchen Lease – By

Samantha Byars

1) When did you first decide to become a teacher?

a) Mrs. Stout did not decide to go for her teaching degree until she was 50 years old. She

remains adamant that if she had began teaching when she was young that she would not

have stayed within the profession. She states that she wanted to be a teacher when she

first left high school, however her mother told her that she did not feel that she would

enjoy it (her mother was a teacher as well), so Mrs. Stout went on to be an accountant

instead. As she got older, she realized that she was getting bored with the accounting

profession and that she would like to do something else. So, she enrolled in UNCC to get

her master’s degree that would allow her to teach. She has currently been in the

profession for 10 years and has only taught 3rd grade! Mrs. Lease has been a teacher for

20 years though she just came back to the profession after taking 10 years off to raise her

babies. She has 4 children and all of them are in kindergarten or above. Mrs. Lease says

that she decided to become a teacher while in high school and attending college in Ohio.

She is not exactly used to the weather of North Carolina as she has not been her very

long. She also feels that education has changed a lot in the past 10 years. She is still

trying to catch up with the “updated” ways of doing things that were not in use when she

took a break from teaching.

2) What do you think is the most important character trait for a student teacher?

a) To be a teacher you need to have patience. No two days are going to be the same. You

are going to be learning as you go so never be afraid to make little mistakes or if

something does not go right the first time. So many teachers leave the profession because
 they are not truly prepared for what is to come. Teaching is not for the faint of heart, you

have to love what you do to teach.

3) How do you deal with bad behavior within the classroom?

a) With teaching 3rd graders they have more of a sense of what is expected of them versus

the earlier grades. I make use of class dojo for both positive and negative points as well

as Mrs. Lease (coteaches ELA/SS) and I have a behavior chart that carries for both

classes and allows for a special reward at the end of the month if the student has 4 or less

popsicle sticks for the entire month.

4) Are you currently satisfied with the amount of time that is allotted for each subject?

a) Mrs. Stouts 3rd graders schedule is as follows. The students go between two different

classrooms for their ELA/SS time and their Math/Science time. The way the schedule

falls allows for the teachers to focus on the ELA and the math first and how much ever

time is left is what is dedicated to SS or science.

i. 8:00-8:30 – Morning Meetings/Morning Work

ii. 8:40-10:40 – ELA/SS

iii. 10:50-11:20 – Recess

iv. 11:20-11:50 – Lunch

v. 11:55-12:50 – Specials

vi. 1:00-2:40 – Science/Math

vii. 2:40-2:50 – Pack Up

viii. 3:00 – Dismissal

 b) Mrs. Stout says that while they may not always get to the science or social studies each

day, that she likes the way in which the schedule works. It allows for her students to

focus on big concepts that may not be able to be taught in one 30 minute lesson.

5) What does reading workshop look like in your classroom? (Mrs. Lease)

a) This is my first year back teaching in over 10 years. I am still working out kinks and

getting back into the groove of teaching. For my reader’s workshop I have placed the

students into groups that will allow them to not only be in roughly the same place when

having small group with me, it allows them to be able to aid one another if I am working

with another group. So far in this school year we have been working on assessing

students to place them into groups and working on things that they already learned last

year (along with a few new topics).

6) What is the classroom community like in your class?

a) Each student is given one job each month. I allow them to tell me two jobs they would

like to do at the end of each month, and I try to give them one of the two choices. These

jobs include cleaning up in the cafeteria, line leader, turning off the lights, a runner, or

even someone who picks up the pencils at the end of the day. Each student has a job and

as I have gotten more students throughout the school year, I have added more jobs.