Interview

Ms. Jasmine initially wanted to attend cosmetology school but changed her mind after working as an assistant teacher in a preschool. She has been teaching for almost three years and has noticed a shift towards more technology in education due to COVID-19. She enjoys watching children grow and achieve milestones. Online education is beneficial for students with anxiety or difficulty in a traditional classroom. If given the chance, she would choose teaching again because she finds joy in seeing children learn and develop. Hi, I'm with Ms. Jasmine from Southwick. She teaches kindergarten. Hi, Jasmine. Hi. So why did you select teaching as a profession? At first, teaching wasn't what I wanted to do. I had thought of going to cosmetology school, but senior year of high school, I was an assistant teacher in the preschool at my high school, and that's when I realized I didn't want to go to cosmetology school anymore and wanted to go into teaching. Nice. Well, how long have you been teaching? I've been teaching for about almost three years now. I think three years, yeah. And what changes have you noticed in the field of teaching over time? Things that I have noticed that have changed is the more technology involved instead of the hands-on learning. When I was in elementary school, it was more physical hands-on learning, and we only really used computers during our special technology, which was once a week. But other than that, we didn't use them. But now since COVID hit, technology has taken over the education department. True. I agree with that. What is it about teaching that you like and don't like? I don't think I have anything that I really don't like. I can't think of anything on that one. I really enjoy watching kids grow and their accomplishments and milestones and also help them hit those milestones and accomplishments and getting to celebrate those little moments with them. Now, given the impact of COVID-19 on the school systems, can you comment on how you and other teachers have been affected? And can you also talk about the influence on online education for students in general? I do believe technology and online education has taken over for students. My niece does online school to help her anxiety because she struggles with it in school. I think online education is great for those who have trouble or struggle with being inside a classroom or inside a school environment. Now, if you were in a position of starting your career over, would you choose to redo it? Yes. I enjoy watching children learn and how they think of things around them and how their brains develop over time and watching them hit milestones and grow physically and developmentally over time. Awesome. Thank you so much. You're welcome.