An Interview with Ethan Fisher, a High School

Janell Monson, Amber Papierniak, and Chris Czech

University of Minnesota, Duluth

Composition 3160, Fall Semester 1999

In order to learn more about the education field, specifically secondary education centered around the social sciences, our group decided to interview Mr. Ethan Fisher, a senior government teacher at Central High School in Duluth, Minnesota. We learned a lot during the interview, which was compiled into a report, and which will be summarized within this web site.

Interview Summary

Ethan Fisher became interested in becoming a teacher when he was a student himself. He was inspired by certain teachers he had in high school and the teaching strategies they employed. He graduated from St. Scholastica College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences and a minor in History.

Although he has taught all grade levels, Mr. Fisher prefers the level he currently teaches best. He feels that he can relate to the older students better. The seniors in his classes study American government, with an emphasis on the federal system.

According to Mr. Fisher, the most rewarding part of his job is working with the "95%" of the students who are "good kids who want to be in school". The most challenging part is dealing with the other 5% who turn in work late and just don’t care about school in general.

The job market for teachers is optimistic. According to the latest statistics that Mr. Fisher has heard, there are "180,000 students in education with 200,000 jobs opening up in the next five years". This high demand is due to the growing retirement of baby boomers in the career. The areas with the highest demand are the vocational careers such as home economics and industrial arts. It certainly is a great time to become a teacher.

Analysis of Writing on the Job

Most of the writing is done by the students in Mr. Fisher's class. However, this does not mean that writing skills are not important for teachers to master. In order to evaluate his students' work, it is crucial for him to know good writing skills. The writing that Mr. Fisher does centers around designing tests, worksheets, syllabi, and projects for his classes. Also, Mr. Fisher is also required to fill out paperwork at times, such as when dealing with special education students.

Conclusion

We learned a lot both about the overall demands of being a high school social studies teacher and the writing requirements that go along with it. Mr. Fisher was a great person to interview for this assignment.