I am interested in science and like to explain it to others, and for that I would like to teacher science.  This assignment provides me an opportunity to learn more about teaching career.  I did not have to go far to learn more about teaching.  I went to Google and search for science teacher.  I found many science teachers associations on Google.  I decide to send out emails to three teachers from Texas.  Why Texas, because I am thinking about teaching in Texas in the future.  The purposes of this interview are to find out more about career in science teaching and ask for advice for new teachers.  To organize the interview, I group the interview questions into personal, professional, and advice categories.

First it is about personal category.  How long have you been an educator?  Joe has 14 years, and Jane has 34 years.  What have your most enjoyed about teaching?  Share with students about my knowledge and I find it is so rewarding to teach and help students with problem they might be having, said Joe.  For Jane, she said working with students who can be every creative and challenging.  What has frustrated you in your work?  For Joe, there is an awful lot of work to do all the time and all of it is important. Sometimes he wants to spend more time with struggled students, but he just doesn’t have time.  For Jane it is also about a lot of paper work.  In retrospect, is there anything about your career that you wish you had done differently?  I wish to stay longer at a school that I like even if it was lower pay.  For Jane she does not have any thing that she wants to start over again.

Second group of questions were about professional category for science teacher.  How do you decide what is important to teach in science?   In Texas, we teach our state objectives called TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills).  This answer was from both Joe and Jane.  What theories or methods do you think are important in teaching science?  For Joe it is about helping students experience science in varied, interesting, and enjoyable ways.  For Jane it is about hands-on activities.  What metaphor describes you as a science teacher? For Joe it is a dolphin because Dolphin is always wise to the hazards that may approach, but excited and enjoying life along the way. Teachers ride the waves of the classroom, with all their ups and downs. No matter how out of control it gets I always go back for more in search of that perfect ride.  Jane did not answer this question.  What are the key attributes of a good teacher?  For Jane it is about organized, calm, good listener, and versatile.  For Joe is turn ears into eyes by good store telling.  A good teacher makes the ordinary extraordinary and the extraordinary ordinary.  By that Joe mean good teachers are able to make the mundane, boring stuff which we have to teach so interesting that students are hooked and able to make difficult concepts easy for students to comprehend.  A good teacher does not teach but draws out.

Finally, what advice would you give a new teacher today? Joe said don’t be discourage, most common challenge is not to get discouraged. New teachers try too hard to be “perfect”, afraid of losing their jobs; afraid of disappointing an administrator. They must learn that teaching in and of itself is a learning process, and that it takes at least three years before they REALLY “get the hang of it.” The challenge then is not to get discouraged early and stress out or worse, quit.  For Jane it is all about be prepared, be organized, don’t panic if something does not work – try something different.

To conclude, the interview provide me ask experienced science teachers personal, professional, and advice questions, and I have learned that there’s more than meets the eye. From challenging eager learners to encouraging those who think they can’t do science, high school science teachers Joe and Jane said there’s nothing like seeing the lights go on in students’ minds. To them, the best part of teaching is to bring students to a true understanding of science.