Teachers at John I. Burton are required to meet certain substantial goals each year. In relation to her new Algebra 2 course, Mrs. Sharpe said she has make sure there is or close to one hundred percent pass rates in the Algebra 2 SOL and she has to show up to school on time as much as possible. I then asked Mrs. Sharpe about the difficulties of teaching the Algebra 2 course. Mrs. Sharpe then replied that she had no difficulties with teaching this course; she said,"It just comes naturally." In response to what she has to do to prepare for the class, she said she has to "...study,create lessons and tests, grade papers and do homework assignments before the class does."
To wrap up the interview with Mrs. Sharpe, I asked her a few opinion questions. I asked Mrs. Sharpe that if she only taught Algebra 2 as opposed to more than one course, would she be a stronger, more skilled teacher in that subject area . In response, Mrs. Sharpe said "No, having more than one course makes you work harder. I absolutely love a challenge and I love having the chance to teach a new subject. " When asked how she felt about giving homework assignments, Mrs. Sharpe replied "I think it helps to see what they know and what they do not know and in some cases it can help them by giving them extra practice." To conclude my interview with Mrs. Sharpe I asked her, what is one thing she feels she could do to improve herself as a Algebra 2 teacher. She then replied "I reflect my teaching on every day classes and try to figure out what I can do better and what I need to change." She then added with humor "I also look at their faces to see if they are confused, seem to know what I am talking about, or if they know the material very well."