Interview with Donna Grossarth

Donna Grossarth is an elementary school teacher in the Salem-Keizer school district. She was my 4th grade teacher and is the mom of one of my close friends from high school. I admire her passion for teaching and the enthusiasm with which she talks about her students. This interview was done soon after finding out we would be interviewing someone for this course and before interview topics were introduced. I will speak to her more about her use of technology in the classroom within the next week.

Donna Grossarth – 5^th grade elementary school teacher

} Have you had any children in your classes in which you had to change or develop a special education program specifically for them? How did this affect the rest of your students? Every kid learns at a different rate and they are all at different levels. I have different expectations for all my students because of their ability to perform. Across the board in my classroom, they’re all at a different level and learning rate. We’re working on building and improving the areas they’re weak in. However, I’ve had to develop programs for children with a vast array of educational disabilities and autism. For example, the children with autism hate to write. I have some students who are on a behavior IEP or 504 plan which is another health impaired condition that gives these students different parameters than the other students. Dealing with the behavioral issues is more difficult than dealing with the children who have learning disabilities.

} What kinds of responsibilities are expected of you as a teacher outside the classroom? This can be in reference to parent-teacher meetings, staff meetings, cross-walk duty, etc. We’re all expected to be on some sort of committee in our school. For example, I’m the talented and gifted coordinator. I’m also on site council and on CARE team where we bring students of concern to the table and provide interventions which requires paperwork. In addition we always have two 12-hour days for conferencing. This year we have an afterschool duty (5-10 min) such as bus duty, front door duty or sidewalk duty. PLC (professional learning community) is another requirement where all the same grade teachers (such as all the 5^th grade teachers) establish goals for each other so they are all on the same page.

} Are there any divisions in the ways that boys and girls learn? Does one gender learn quicker? I’m not sure if I can generalize that. It seems like more girls at 5^th grade are enjoying reading and 5^th grade boys haven’t developed that love of reading yet. Boys love anything hands on (science and math manipulative). A lot of girls are intimidated by math and don’t think they can do it. I think boys learn best if there’s a physical component and girls with emotional component.

} How constricting is your budget? For field trips, usually the parent club makes the money at their fundraiser which helps and then you divide the difference of the cost per child. I think it’s usually $5-$6 per child for a field trip which is remarkable considering the bus eats up most of that. Usually our principal gives us each a $50-$75 start-up allowance which enables us to buy whatever we need for our classroom. We also have a print budget but I’ve never run out of that. Sometimes they can give more money for different programs like right now we just started up a new literacy program which requires books and tubs for the books. Middle/high school spells out how much money you have and they’re very strict about it. But in elementary it’s a little bit kept in the dark. I like it that way because then I never run out of anything I need like paper or art supplies.

} Which subject do you find easiest to teach your students? My kids love geometry (right now they are graphing coordinate pairs). I can barely get them to stop! I love teaching history because we act it out or live it and find a way to get beyond the text. Which create the most challenges? Writing seems to be the most difficult. I can’t seem to find the perfect teaching combination because everyone writes at a different level. With math I can show them that 2+2=4 but in writing it’s more ambiguous.

} Do you have a supportive school administration? Yes, this year I do. We had a new principal last year and we had some challenges but we’ve worked through that. I think administrations are most supportive to those who respect their teachers as professionals.

} Have you discussed gay/lesbianism in your classroom? No, I don’t discuss that at all. However I’ve had situations where someone comes to school where they have two moms. We talk about different family constructions and how every family looks different. We talk about how there may be a man and a woman, a step-dad and a mom, a mom and grandparents, a step-mom and a dad with half-siblings… I emphasize that it is important to respect each other. If someone says “you’re so gay” I jump on that right away and tell them that’s considered sexual harassment. I also give them a real-life scenario like if they were working, they could potentially lose their job for saying that. But I don’t feel it is appropriate to talk to my 5^th graders about gay/lesbianism.

} Have you ever not wanted to go to work? Oh yes. I’ve had years where the class was not cooperating with me at all. The year my house burned down, I had a particularly difficult class. I had 7 students who could not sit next to anyone else in the class. That along with my personal life at home made teaching really difficult for me to do. That being said, I love what I do. I wouldn’t change it for the world. The job can just be challenging and frustrating sometimes but it’s worth the reward.

} How do you feel about blended classes? Having a blended class depends on how the numbers play out and it’s very difficult to manage. Normally we have 3 of each grade. With math, you can ability group within your own classroom to help with the learning difference. A lot of times you’re just teaching more in depth the next year. Sometimes the light bulb is just not going to come on for some kids because they are not developmentally there.

} What are the demographics of your school? By which I am asking do you serve children who live in different income classes (aka poor, working class, middle class, etc)? We are about 44% free and reduced (poverty level) but mostly my school is middle class with very few middle-upper. Does this affect they interact with each other? I think in the classroom not so much but socially after school, yes.

} How do these economic difference impact students performance in the school? I don’t think there is a huge difference in potential ability. The kids at the poverty level come to school less prepared (for instance without breakfast). Also, the low-income parents usually don’t place an importance on continued education since they themselves have not continued their education past high school. The lack of parental motivation or drive can definitely have a large impact on a child’s learning.

} How do you as a teacher learn about the different home lives of your students? Initially I have kids do writings that introduce me to themselves and write about themselves so that they share personal information through writings. Then I ask questions from that. I try to ask general and nonjudgmental questions like “did you have something for breakfast?”

} Do you think the home life a student is relevant to their learning and school performance? There are a lot of students who if they don’t have their basic needs (food , safety and shelter) they cannot learn. Some families are JUST surviving and getting by while others encounter substance abuse, mental and/or physical abuse. If a child doesn’t feel safe at home, then it makes it nearly impossible for them to learn.

} Does a particular religion dominate student culture (for example Christian)? Does this affect the way students interact with each other? There is a very high prevalence of Christian religion and kids talking about Christianity. I read the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe every year. My students are beginning to make the connection with Christianity. I don’t expand on it but I notice they’re starting to talk about that and get that world perspective. It’s not an issue but I’m starting to see that especially with my Jehovah’s witness kids. If we have a birthday and the Jehovah’s witness children go in the hall, I just explain generally that they don’t believe in this celebration and that it’s okay. Then I try to tie in how we are free in this country to believe what we want and that we’re very lucky for that.

} Are you aware of students with Native heritage? Yes, I’m usually aware of it usually because of how students look. When we study the ancient America’s and Native Americans, most of the kids usually have a little bit of Native in them and always want to share. The children that are full or half are very culturally aware. Most times their names are very different. One student didn’t look me in the eye because it’s a sign of disrespect in his culture.

} How do you include racial / ethnic diversity in your work? We study ancient America’s and the Civil War. I have the most diverse classroom I’ve ever had. I have 3 African Americans, 2 Native Americans, 5 Hispanic, and 18 Caucasian children. The cool thing is that they don’t make an issue of it if you don’t. I make a point of celebrating our differences rather than pointing them out in a negative way. I use books and movies, and we talk about slaves and MLK. A lot of my students use racial slang and most of the time they don’t even know what it means. I’ve had African American students tell other African American kids they can call them ‘nigger’ but that the white kids can’t. I just have to explain to them that we are in a positive environment and that that language is insulting to many people.

} Is it important, in your opinion to address racial / ethnic diversity even if 'nearly all' or 'all' of your students are white? I would still do the same things. The only thing I don’t like is that one of my students is bi-racial and he feels singled out. I hate that he feels like an outcast.