Leadership Interview

I interviewed Jen Green who is both an English teacher and a Math teacher at Byron High School. o Who did you choose and why? I chose Jen because she has many years of experience, a family, a double license and is extremely helpful personally and professionally. o What surprised you? The credit that she gave her spouse. Her spouse is very flexible and appreciates the hard work she put in at school. Juggling school, kids, social and spouse can be hard. She is very grateful to have someone who understands the demands that school can put on a person. She also works very had to have her weekends be all about family. This surprised me that I struggle with the same balancing act. She has two children and they are older, whereas my son is almost three. Even though her children are older and she has been teaching longer I was surprised that we were kind of in the same boat. Life is busy and it will continue to be busy. o What did you connect with? I really connected with the three qualities that a good teacher possesses. Her three characteristics that she believes in are that the teacher is passionate, they love their job and are always bettering themselves and reflecting on their work. I wholeheartedly agree with these characteristics. At Byron I feel that we as staff and students have teachers that emulate these qualities. o What components of Leadership were evident (12 Virtues, Spiritual Dimensions, Growth Mindset, AGAPE) Jen definitely has the growth mindeset and the twelve virtues. What one quote from the interview stands out to you? Before I left for class my quote was "A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do," Walter Gagehot. This quote made perfect sense to me, especially when I asked her what she was most proud of. Jen was part of the math team that was awarded the Intell Award. They completely changed the way they taught math. Partially due to a low budget they had to create their own curriculum and change the way they were teaching math. The improvements were magnificent. o Any additional thoughts or reflections you had on the process- I learned that Jen has been in five different districts that give her a different perspective about many things. I myself have only been in one district, but I can see how being in different districts is beneficial. I also learned that she has been teaching for 19 years. It was nice to get to know her opinions and her little bit better than I already do. I really enjoyed this project and Ms. Green taking the time to let me interview her. * Disclaimer: I am an art teacher so in case Ms. Green reads this please don't get mad at me for any grammar or English mistakes!