Interviews

High-intermediate

1. Discussion Questions

   • Ask students to discuss in small groups:
     • “Do you think teaching is an innate talent, or can anyone learn to be a good teacher?”
     • “What qualities make a teacher effective or ineffective in your opinion?”

2. Prediction Exercise

   • Write the title of the interview, The Teacher Debate: Are Teachers Born or Created?, on the board. Ask students to predict what the speakers might say about the topic and list possible arguments for each side.

3. Personal Reflection

   • Have students write about their most memorable teacher—either positive or negative—and explain why that teacher stood out. Discuss responses as a class.

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the video:

engage (verb): to capture attention or interest
– The teacher used a fun activity to engage her students in the lesson.
– It’s important to engage the audience during a presentation.

innate (adjective): natural, existing from birth
– Some people believe teaching is an innate talent.
– Her innate ability to stay calm in stressful situations is impressive.

context (noun): the situation or background information surrounding something
– Understanding the context of a story helps you appreciate its meaning.
– The teacher explained the historical context of the novel before we read it.

perspective (noun): a point of view or way of thinking about something
– Aubrey shared her perspective on what makes a good teacher.
– Listening to others’ perspectives can help solve disagreements.

dispassionate (adjective): lacking strong emotions or feelings
– The judge gave a dispassionate explanation of the decision.
– A dispassionate teacher might make the class feel uninterested.

Now, watch the interview and answer the comprehension questions. You can also turn on the automatically-generated captions for the video once you start it.

Randall: In this video, let’s talk about this question: Are teachers born or are they created? I want you to think about this for a minute, Aubrey. I can share a personal experience. When I was growing up, I never wanted to be a teacher. I mean, it was like I had a terrible experience in seventh grade where I promised that I would never become an English teacher because I never wanted to be like Mrs. Beep. I’m not going to mention the name.

Aubrey: An English teacher specifically you didn’t want to be?

Randall: Uh, yeah, it was a terrible class.

Aubrey: Oh that’s funny.

Randall: I mean, I was sent down to the principal’s office because of something I did, and it just. Yeah, she just rubbed me the wrong way, but later on, I wanted to be a lawyer. I wanted to go into business. I . . . there were a variety of things. And then I started to analyze some of my own teachers where I saw a teacher. Why this person? Why in the world did they go into teaching? And then there were other teachers like: “This is what I want to be.” I mean, not necessarily want to be a teacher, but the way in which they engaged the students and so forth. So with this idea in mind, do you think teachers are born . . . just some people are destined to be teachers, or can anyone become a teacher with the right training, with the right skill set?

Aubrey: I guess technically anyone could become a teacher, but there are definitely people who shouldn’t do it.

Randall: Okay.

Aubrey: They’re just terrible at it.

Randall: What would be an example? “Oh, this person, they have this particular quality and there’s no way that they would be a good teacher.”

Aubrey: Well, when I was in junior high, my Spanish teacher was the reason I didn’t end up taking Spanish, and I regret not taking Spanish because it would actually be useful. But he just like, read out of the book and gave us handouts, and the test was the handout, and we didn’t learn anything, and it was so boring, right? If you’re boring, don’t be a teacher.

Randall: Okay. And they’re probably different reasons why people are boring. Number one, they’re just boring.

Aubrey: Yeah.

Randall: And the other thing is . . . Maybe they got the job and it’s something that they weren’t planning to do, but they ended up getting stuck in that particular job. Maybe it’s a dead-end job for them. They were hoping for something else. It’s hard to know. Sometimes, I see that teachers are bored and maybe they appear bored, but maybe there’s something else going on in their lives. I have no idea. Uh, I don’t think from my experience in watching teachers, I think some people are just not cut out for it at all. Or maybe they would be a good teacher in this particular situation, like maybe in college, but they would be a terrible high school teacher because they can’t relate to the needs, to the anxieties, to the stresses, to the . . . All of those things that, uh, young people encounter in public schools.

Aubrey: Like junior high. Those kids will eat them alive.

Randall: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Aubrey: Junior high kids are mean. High school kids are mean too.

Randall: Well, thank you for sharing your ideas on teachers, whether they are born, or they develop those skill sets.

Intermediate

1. What qualities did Aubrey and Randall think made a teacher ineffective? Can you give examples from the interview?
2. Have you ever had a teacher who influenced you, either positively or negatively? What made that teacher stand out?
3. Aubrey talked about her Spanish teacher being boring. What could the teacher have done differently to make the class more interesting?
4. Randall and Aubrey both mention their junior high experiences. Why do you think junior high might be a particularly challenging time for both teachers and students?
5. In the interview, Randall and Aubrey describe some teachers as being “boring.” How would you define an engaging teacher in your own words?

Advanced

6. Randall mentions that some teachers may feel stuck in their roles, leading to disengagement. How do you think this could affect students and the learning environment?
7. Do you agree with the idea that teaching requires an innate talent, or do you believe anyone can become an effective teacher with proper training? Why?
8. Randall mentions that some teachers might thrive in college but struggle in junior high or high school. Why do you think teaching different age groups requires unique skills?
9. Both Randall and Aubrey reflect on how past experiences with teachers shaped their views on education. How have your own experiences with teachers shaped your views on what makes a good educator?

For Visual Learners

1. Mind Map Creation
   • Have students create a mind map summarizing the main ideas of the interview, such as “qualities of good teachers,” “examples of bad teaching,” and “teaching as innate vs. learned.”
2. Comic Strip
   • Ask students to draw a comic strip depicting a scene from the interview, focusing on either Randall’s or Aubrey’s story about an ineffective teacher.

For Auditory Learners

1. Group Debate
   • Divide the class into two groups to debate whether teaching is an innate ability or a skill that can be learned.
2. Role Play
   • Have pairs of students act out a teacher-student scenario based on the interview, showing both an ineffective and effective teacher in action.

For Kinesthetic Learners

1. Gallery Walk
   • Post key quotes or questions from the interview around the room. Students walk around, read, and discuss each with a partner.
2. Scenario Activity
   • Give small groups scenarios like “a teacher is bored with their job” or “a teacher is overly strict.” Students act out how this would affect students and suggest solutions.

For Reading/Writing Learners

1. Journal Reflection
   • Ask students to write a journal entry about a teacher who influenced them and whether they believe that teacher was “born” to teach or developed their skills.
2. Letter to a Teacher
   • Have students write a thank-you letter to a teacher who impacted them or a critique letter imagining advice they’d give to a poor teacher like the ones mentioned in the interview.

For Mixed Modalities

1. Design a Poster
   • In groups, students design a poster highlighting the qualities of an effective teacher and strategies to engage students.
2. Small Group Discussion and Presentation
   • Students discuss in small groups what they learned from the interview, then present their conclusions to the class using visuals, speech, or role-play.