Interview Session

By Syed Ahmed

Syed Ahmed, a 10th grade student from our Advanced Level in high school, interviewed Mr. Thad Daniels, a North American soon to be teacher who came to Chile to comply with the last requirement to become a teacher, his teaching practicum.  Syed would like to share his interview with all of us.

S:         What’s your name?

Mr. T:  Thaddeus Daniels

S:         Where are you from?

Mr. T:  I’m from Mississippi

S:         What is the reason for you to be here right now?

Mr. T:  I’m here to do my practice to become a teacher of English to speakers of other languages.

S:         What have you been studying to get to this point?

Mr. T:  I have been studying a lot of different types of methods and intense English courses

S:         How do you handle stress and the pressure of being a teacher?

Mr. T:  Well, that’s a good question. I just try to make stuff not to get in my head that much and I always try to remind myself of the nice things and keep everything very relaxed.

S:         As a professional, how do you evaluate success?

Mr. T:  I evaluate success by knowing that the students are improving in writing, reading, speaking, and listening. When I see solid improvement in those 4 areas I get the idea of them being successful in life.

S:         Which are your goals in the future?

Mr. T:  My goals in the future are to go back home (USA) and finish my last year of college and when I graduate,  travel to different kinds of countries, to teach this beautiful language that is English, probably making my way back to Chile. Lol!

S:         Could you describe a difficult work situation that you have overcome in the past couple of days?

Mr. T:  I haven’t really been here for a long term, so that means I haven’t got the time to have a bad moment.  Everything has been awesome!

S:         If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be?

Mr. T:  My dad, because he passed away 7 years ago so he didn’t get to experience all my good carrier moments.

S:         In this school there are different educational programs, which one is the most nice and interesting for you?

Mr. T:  The bilingual- partial immersion program is very important and useful because you see the way that it’s taught over here. The kids get to know every single detail of the second language; in fact in the US it’s not that much. Also that every lesson is taught in English is very beneficial for the student.

S:         If you could change anything about this school, what would it be?

Mr. T:  Everything has been really great, I have no complains, so I can’t answer that.

S:         Which problem or obstacle have you had in this country?

Mr. T:  Definitely the language, everybody has been very helpful but just the factor of being on my own, to try to get a cab or check in has been very hard for me.

S:         Which is your greatest strength?

Mr. T:  Probably that I can stay calm in difficult situations and I don’t get overwhelmed in the face of obstacles and opposition.

S:         Well that would be it, any message that you would like to share with the Eagles’ College Community?

Mr. T: Thanks!!

My experience at Eagles’ College has been spectacular, and the only thing that I would change of my journey is to make it longer.

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