Lessons from the Field: Interview with Ruth Sheffer
Posted on February 4th, 2010 in Certification Map | Comments
This post is part of the Teachers Certification Map’s “lessons from the field”, a series of posts featuring passionate, inspiring educators from across the country discussing some of the lessons that they have learned over the years that would help young teachers as they embark on their careers.
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Ruth Sheffer teaches high school English in a technological high school in Jerusalem, Israel. This is her 30th year. During our interview, she proclaimed "I'm still alive!"
What inspired you to teach?
Nothing I just kind of fell into it by accident. It was a good job for me when my kids were little and I did like the interaction with the pupils, the friendly staff at my school and the fact that no matter how bad things got I had a new shot at it the following September.
What classroom methods are most helpful in pushing students towards their goals?
Unfortunately this is a hard question for me to answer. In my opinion, the teachers have goals and the parents have goals. The head of the school definitely has goals. But many of the students have only the goal of hanging out with their friends, having fun, and maybe getting good grades but this is usually a desire they wish to achieve with very little effort on their part (sorry to be so negative)
What is the one thing you wish you'd known when you started in the classroom?
I think that the ability to improvise and to be a bit of an actor is indispensable int he classroom.
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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want to be considered for an interview? If so, please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.
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Ruth Sheffer teaches high school English in a technological high school in Jerusalem, Israel. This is her 30th year. During our interview, she proclaimed "I'm still alive!"What inspired you to teach?
Nothing I just kind of fell into it by accident. It was a good job for me when my kids were little and I did like the interaction with the pupils, the friendly staff at my school and the fact that no matter how bad things got I had a new shot at it the following September.
What classroom methods are most helpful in pushing students towards their goals?
Unfortunately this is a hard question for me to answer. In my opinion, the teachers have goals and the parents have goals. The head of the school definitely has goals. But many of the students have only the goal of hanging out with their friends, having fun, and maybe getting good grades but this is usually a desire they wish to achieve with very little effort on their part (sorry to be so negative)
What is the one thing you wish you'd known when you started in the classroom?
I think that the ability to improvise and to be a bit of an actor is indispensable int he classroom.
–
Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want to be considered for an interview? If so, please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.
