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Acacia Chacon
Derek Decker
Case Study
2/25/15
After having spent a couple of weeks in Ms. Phalens homeroom I have had the chance to
interact and get to know all fifteen students. I set out to interview two of the fifteen students to
gain some insight on how the students individual lives, personalities and backgrounds can
influence or hinder the reception of instruction inside the classroom. With the help of Ms.
Phalen I selected two students who both exhibit advanced maturity, focus and engagement in the
classroom. Whats interesting about the two students is their diverse backgrounds. The first
student, Kaiden, is a white, male who comes from an affluent family. His parents are gainfully
employed, and in fact his uncle is Senator Gardner. Kaiden participates in sports all year round,
maintains high grades and has attended school in the Poudre district since kindergarten. The
second student I interviewed, Lexi is a Latina female whose parents are both incarcerated. She is
living with an aunt and three of her four siblings. Lexi just transferred to Boltz Middle School
from Loveland where she has spent the past ten years. She is joining the Latino Leadership Club
at school, actively engages in class and has adjusted to the Boltz climate seemingly well. I chose
two students from very different backgrounds, cultures and with different personalities who
shared a similarity in their success in school. I wanted to find out the common thread amongst
students from diverse backgrounds who excel in a school environment as well as what unique
constraints inhibit or promote a students success inside of the classroom. With my purpose in
mind I set out asking these two exemplary students specific questions to gauge their opinion on
school and how I can use an understanding of their background and personalities to be a more
aware and purposeful teacher.

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After reviewing my notes from the interviews I noticed two notable similarities in both of
the students responses. After asking about the students backgrounds I began asking them their
opinions towards school, towards Boltz and what they would change if they were the teacher.
Both students mentioned that they appreciated Boltz for offering a diverse selection of classes
and extracurricular activities. Kaiden was quick to list off his involvement in numerous sports at
Boltz including: basketball, football, track and wrestling. Kaiden claimed that his involvement
in these school sports has led him to want to pursue a career in sports. He mentioned that if he
isnt able to make it to the NFL as a coach or announcer that he would like to work as a coach or
referee at the college or high school. Kaiden made the point to tell me that his motive was to
help students to love sports and love to get involved. I shared with Kaiden that my father is the
commissioner for Colorados semi-pro league and we bonded over our mutual experiences on the
field. When I asked Lexi about her opinion of Boltz she also noted the diverse opportunites
available at Boltz. Lexi was originally having a difficult time relating to her peers when she first
started at Boltz, since her transfer Lexi has been able to click with a few girls with whom she can
relate too but she is especially glad to join with likeminded students in Boltzs Latino Leadership
Club. I joined in her excitement because I am active in CSUs Latino community through El
Centro. She and I bonded over a shared pride in our heritage and active participation in our
community. Kaiden and Lexi both mentioned their favorite aspect of Boltz to be the access to
numerous extracurricular activities which make them feel involved as a member of Boltz Middle
School. From this I took away the importance of allowing all students the opportunity to engage
in the classroom in a way that they can relate too. When students feel like an integral part of
their learning environment and are offered resources to express their individuality they are able
to build their sense of self and sense of connection with their community. By interviewing

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students on where their interests lie and what their passionate about I can be meaningful in my
interactions with them and how I present my instruction in a way that the students can relate
with.
The second comparison between the two students answers was their reply to the question
what would you change about school if you were the teacher? Both Kaiden and Lexi were
quick to reply with get rid of homework. They both had solid support for their adamant
opinion towards abolishing homework. Kaiden said that while homework on a small scale can
be a useful tool, that too much homework can make a student feel overwhelmed and take away
from their ability to pursue other passions. Likewise Lexi made the poignant point of saying
teachers dont want to take their work home with them so why do they expect us to do that?
She went on to say that there should be a clear divide between school-time and home-time.
At first I thought it a humorous coincidence that both students quickly mentioned eliminating
homework as the first choice they would make as a teacher but after listening to their reasoning
behind this opinion I was able to see homework through the perspective of a middle school
student. I empathize with the students feelings of being overwhelmed by the blurred division
between school and home. By communicating with students on their reasoning I am more able
to empathize with their opinion which allows me to design my instruction around what works
best for my students which may include eliminating homework as much as possible.
Where the two interviews divided was in their home life. My upbringing was much more
similar to Lexis so I was interested to gauge where Kaidens motivation for school stemmed
from. After learning that his parents were the head of the CSU fire department and an editor for
Fort Collins Electric and Water and that his two uncles were both a senator and a military brass I
mentioned that those are lofty professions and asked what he wanted to do with his future career.

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Kaiden replied with it sounds like every kid but I want to work in the NFL as a coach or an
announcer or something but if that doesnt work than I want to work in sports as a coach for a
college or high school. I asked him why and he replied that he wants to help kids to love sports
and get involved with their community because that is important. I think that his notion of being
involved in your community can be traced back to his familys active roles in the community.
Also, his parents have pushed him to be in sports from a young age so it comes as no surprise
that he has been cultured to enjoy sports enough to choose a career in sports because his identity
seems to be directly tied to his involvement in the sporting community. I see a direct correlation
between Kaidens interests and opinions with those of his family. Kaidens family seems to play
a heavy influence on his interests and aspirations. Learning where a students motivation derives
from by interviewing or talking with them one-on-one can be useful in harnessing that source of
motivation in the classroom.
Lexis source of motivation and aspirations are different than Kaidens in a way that I can
relate to. Lexis parents are both incarcerated and her main parental figure is her aunt who cares
for her siblings, cousins and herself. Lexis aunt works in the service sector at CSU. Separate
from what she has seen, Lexi dreams of going to college for anthropology and aspires to study
fossils as a career. I asked how she came across this interest and she said it was because her
favorite show was Bones. Kaidens interests and aspirations seemed to stem from family
influences whereas Lexi lacked family influence and found her inspiration from media and
society. I related with Lexi on wanting to pursue anthropology and gave her advice on which
degree programs can allow for her to research fossils. It was fascinating to see how students can
be influenced by various factors, in Kaidens case his family was a large influencer on his
interests. Lexi lacked familiar influence and derived personal interests from societal outlets. By

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interviewing students to seek out the root of their motivation I can harness that source of
motivation to encourage involvement in the classroom whether that be by involving families or
providing social examples for students to cling on to.
A more abstract take-away that interviewing these two students provided me was a
heightened awareness of seventh grade students ability to think deeply on the spot. I had not
told the students what they were being interviewed on prior to our meeting so their responses
were all impromptu. Kaiden was so quick to reply with an insightful passion which drives his
career goals when he mentioned his desire to encourage kids to get involved via sports. Lexi too
was quick to make the point that teachers dont take enjoy taking their work home with them so
why should they place that expectation on their students. Both students seemed to put real
thought into the answers they provided me. I thought that the students may perceive this
interview as pointless or a bit ridiculous but they surprised me by being thoroughly engaged with
me and providing me insightful and thoughtful answers. I learned that when given the chance to
express themselves freely students will be thoughtful and engaged. Building relationships with
students through individual interviews facilitates the trusting environment for students to express
themselves.
The last thing that resonated with me through interviewing these two students was how
diverse students can assimilate seamlessly in a classroom. Before talking with Kaiden and Lexi I
had seen them interacting in the classroom in previous weeks. They engaged at the same level,
laughed at the same jokes and appeared to be as similar as could be. After discovering how
vastly different their backgrounds were I was surprised that I wasnt able to pick up on that in the
classroom. I began to consider how different each students backgrounds and personalities are
but how in the classroom there seems to be a cohesive culture. Each student contributes their

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personal climates which as a whole builds a classrooms culture in which every student has made
a contribution through their personalities and participation in the class. By interviewing students
I can gather a big picture of what the diverse culture of these collective students are and facilitate
an environment which is inclusive of all of their personalities and backgrounds.
Overall, my discussions with Lexi and Kaiden gave me plenty to contemplate. I learned
that interviewing students can help me to: engage in meaningful interactions with students,
empathize with students opinions, harness students individual sources of motivation, build trust
and facilitate an inclusive classroom culture. Kaiden and Lexi taught me that: students want to
be involved if their interests are reflected, students often have rational support for their opinions,
that sources of motivation can be influenced from various sources, that students who feel open to
express themselves will do so in an enlightening fashion and that classroom culture stems not
from my expectations but from what each student brings to the classroom. These interviews are
a great tool to understand the group of students a teacher is working with so that a teacher can be
purposeful and mindful in their expectations, interactions and instruction.