Initial Interview - Student Date of Interview: Monday, 12/04/06 Time of Interview: 6:05-6:25 pm Location: Paul Public Charter School- Library Subject Name: Thomas Interviewer: Nichole Part I - Biographical 1) Tell me three words that describe you 2) Where do you live? 3) Tell me about your family 4) Do you have a computer at home? 5) Tell me about your neighborhood 6) Where do you go to school? Please describe. 7) Tell me about your teachers? Do you feel supported and understood? 8) Do you have a favorite subject? 9) Do you do well in school? How so? How were your grades? 10) Is there anything you would want to change about your school? Your teachers? Part II - Programmatic 11) Have you ever been in a program like this before? If so, tell me about it. 12) Tell me about the Higher Achievement Program 13) Why did you want to participate? 14) Do you think there are any benefits to being in the Higher Achievement program? 15) What have you learned so far? 16) Describe the HAP “Culture”. What do you think of the Culture Constitution? 17) Tell me about Ms. Aishah and Ms. Andrea? What kind of expectations do they have? 18) Tell me about your mentors? Do you feel that they and the staff are supportive? 19) Describe the perfect mentor 20) Do you think that gender makes a difference? What about race? 21) Do you know what you want to do when you get older? Future goals/plans? Description of Setting Thomas is a fifth grader who attends Community Academy in DC. He has a twin sister who also participates in Higher Achievement. Thomas appears to be a relatively quiet child, and other than his sister, interacts with few of the other children. He often keeps to himself and sits quietly doing his work. He is always an active participant in activities…just a quiet participant. He is of average height for his age with an average, though solid, build. He has a caramel complexion, and wears the CA uniform of a red polo shirt with the CA logo, khaki pants, and black shoes or boots. He often wears a black do rag. I do not see him smile or laugh often. He seems to be a very serious child. I also get the impression that there is a lot going on behind that silent façade, for there have been times when he has made extremely insightful comments seemingly of the blue in classes and studios. Interview Transcription N: Alright. So we’re gonna start off just talking about you a little bit. So let’s start with you telling me three words that describe you. T: (speaking quietly) Smart….Caring….um….smart, caring….umm…(thinking) I think that’s all N: That’s it? Ok. Tell me about your family T: Um. My brother is 26. My sister is 18. And my other sister is the same age as me… N: Cause you are twins T: Yeah N: Who was born first? T: Me N: You were? So you’re technically the oldest? T: Yeah N: Uh. Do all of your brothers and sisters live with you? T: No N: Just your twin? T: And my older sister N: Ok. And you live with both your parents, or just your mom or your dad…just your dad or your grandma? T: My grandmother N: Ok. Your grandmother and your grandpa or just your grandmother? T: Just my grandmother N: Ok. And what does your grandmother do? T: Sometimes she babysits. N: Um hm. Is she retired? T: She still does it a little bit… N: She still does it a little bit? Ok. Where do you live? T: 232 Crittendon street N: Is that in Northwest? T: Yeah N: It is? Ok. Do you have a computer at home? T: Yeah N: So you don’t have to do your work here when you have to do stuff on the computer? T: Sometimes N: Ok. Um. And you go to Community Academy? T: Yes N: Ok. Tell me about your school T: Um. It’s not really that great. We don’t have technology anymore. We have ….we just have Spanish, Art…Spanish, Art and PE. N: They took away the class or they took away the computers all together? T: They took away the class N: Really? So do they still have a computer lab at the school? T: Yes N: Ok, what else. T: On Fridays, We have CUPS. I’m in a different CUP called the Boys Club…a school concert. And every day we have activities and stuff and have a snack. N: What kind of activities do you do? T: Sometimes we go on field trips… sometimes we uh play sports…sometimes we get on the computer or do board games. N: Do you like it? T: Yeah N: What else about your school makes you say that it’s not that good T: Some of the teachers…they jack up the kids N: How do they jack em up? T: They make em back up to the wall (3:17) N: Really. Like physically jack em up? T: Yeah. But they like…push you around and shove you N: Really. What does the principal and the parents do about that. Do they do anything? T: Sometimes the parents…they get mad. And sometimes they come up to the school. But the principal, he doesn’t really do nothin about it. N: Why do you think the teachers do that? T: The principal? N: No, why do you think the teachers do that to the kids? T: Because they think that they don’t listen to them or something. Like that they don’t follow directions. N: Have they ever done that to you? T shakes his head N: No? T: No N: Are you gonna be there next year? T: No N: No? Where are ya gonna go T: I think my grandma is putting me in a private school N: Oh really? Do you know which one? (shakes his head) No? And this is your first year at Community Academy? (4:17) T: No N: You’ve been there since…? T: This my sixth year N: You’ve been there since kindergarten? Ok. Tell me about your teachers there….or tell me MORE about your teachers there T: My teacher name is Ms. ?. N: Ms. ? T: My sister teacher name is Ms. ?. N: Ok T: My Art teacher is Mr. ?. My Spanish teacher is Ms. ? and I forgot my PE teacher’s name. N: Are most of your teachers black or white? T: Um. One…two are white. N: Which ones? T: Well…four. My sister teacher white. My teacher is white. And Spanish teacher…no…my Spanish teacher is Spanish…and my Art teacher is white. N: Are most of your teachers older or younger? T: Older N: Which ones do you get along with best? T: The Art and Spanish N: Um hm. Is Spanish your favorite subject? T: Art N: Art. Ok. So how do you do in school? How did you do on your report card? (5:32) T: My teacher said I did good, but she never gave it to me yet. Cause she says she didn’t get a copy from the office. N: Oh ok. Do you know what you got on your progress report? T: We get weekly progress reports… N: Ok. So they don’t give you one halfway through the quarter? What do you think you got? T: Well…she said everything was good…or was mostly good… N: So do you get mostly A’s…Do you get A’s and B’s at your school or do you get like checks or…what do you get? T: We get…I think we get like 1’s, 2’s and 3’s N: Ok. And one is the highest and 3 is the lowest or… T: 3 is the highest N: 3 is the highest. Ok. And what do you mostly get? T: 2’s and 3’s N: Oh ok. That’s good. So, if there is something that you could change about your school, what would it be? (6:20) T: I wish we had recess every day N: You only have it once a week? T: No, it’s just that. Some of the teachers just be looking and standing there doing nothing N: Just kind of sit there during recess? Why do they do that? T: Even when we do have recess sometimes, they make us play games that we don’t want to play. Like basketball, they put one hoop up, and then they say you take a shot and then go to the back of the line and take another shot. N: Oh Wow. For how many kids? T: It’s a lot of kids N: Wow T: Yeah. And they have jump rope. N: S do they not have a lot of stuff outside for you to play on? T: Outside is more fun than inside, cause outside you can play soccer, basketball…um…you can play….jump ropes and kickball N: Do they have like jungle gyms and stuff like that out there or is it just asphalt and the basketball hoops? T: We have a different…it’s like a rec center here (showing me on the table)…a field here for soccer…a gate here for basketball…and we only use the basketball and the field right here…we don’t go back here no more N: You don’t use the rec center T: No…the jungle gym is in the back N: Ok. Is there anything you would change about your teachers? Outside of recess? T: Umm…that they listen to every child more N: You feel like they don’t listen to you? T: Not all the time N: Not all the time? Ok. Why do you think that is? T: I really don’t know N: Ok. Is that most of the teachers or just some of them? T: Some of them (8:11) N: Ok. Let’s talk a little bit about Higher Achievement. Have you ever been in an after school program before? T: Um. No. Yeah. It’s after…I don’t really remember… N: Ok. Nothing at your school or anything where you had to stay there until your grandma picked you up or anything? T shrugged N: No? Ok. Well tell me about the Higher Achievement program. T: I think it’s ok….but (long pause)… most of the time I really don’t like coming… cause I have to leave school early and stuff, and then when I go home I have to go straight to bed. N: Right…So you don’t have any time for yourself to do anything. What would you do if you had more time? T: Uh…read books for my campaign…and then like…I would like…watch TV for a couple minutes, and then it’d be time to go to bed. N: Right…So would you ummm…So are you gonna participate next semester, or next year? T: I don’t really know. N: Ok. What else about Higher Achievement? What about the program itself? T: I think that…the way…that it’s organized is ok. N: Um hm. What about the stuff that you do here? What do you think about it? T: I think it’s fun sometimes. N: You think it’s fun sometimes? What’s fun? T: Cause…like when the mentors teach us in smaller groups. N: You like that part? What about…you participate in a lot of the studios right? What about those? Do you like those? (10:20) T: Um…Visual Arts N: That’s the one we…you were just in right? Ok. (NicNote: I’d observed the Visual Arts studio that evening) What about some of the other ones T: Dance N: You like dance? (He nods) Yeah? T: Yeah…what hold up…wait…graphy…it’s not photography anymore…they changed it to Visual Arts N: Photography? Oh, so you guys don’t have photography anymore. Oh ok. So you have photography (Visual Arts) on Monday, you have dance on Tuesday, and what do you have on Thursday? T: Another Dance class N: Oh, there’s two dance classes! T: One is Principles of Dance N: And the other one is what? That’s the Tuesday one. I didn’t know there was another one on Thursday T: I dunno… what it’s called…I just know it’s dance. N: Is it with the guy…the white guy with the brown hair and the beard and the instruments? T: No, that’s the jazz class. N: Ok. So why did you decide to participate in Higher Achievement in the first place? T: So...I could learn more stuff and in class…so the teacher doesn’t have to spend all of her time on one person…she can go back and forth teaching. It’ll help me bump my grades up and help me get into a better high school. N: Ok. How did you hear about it? Were you referred by one of your teachers or did your grandma just tell you about it? T: My grandmother told me about it (12:00) N: Ok. Do you think there are any benefits to being in Higher Achievement? In addition to what you were just talking about? T: Umm…Yeah. N: What are some of the benefits T: Um. It helps me a lot in life and stuff…and…um… It gives me something to do sometimes. N: Outside of the time commitment, is there anything else that you don’t like about it? T: Um… Um...No, I can’t think of anything N: Ok. So what do you think you’ve learned so far, being in Higher Achievement? T: I learned about decimals….and negatives and positives….cause usually…in my school, they haven’t taught us about negatives and positives…or stuff like that….and decimals. N: So you’re kind of ahead of what they’re teaching you in school now? T: Yeah N: Ok, anything else? T: Um…in technology, I’m learning more about the computers N: Do you like computers? T: My grandmother…she bought…well actually it was for my older sister, but she said she don want it, so she gon give it to me N: Oh. That’s cool. That is lovely. What about um…I hear a lot of people talking about…um…the culture of Higher Achievement…what do they mean when they talk about the culture of Higher Achievement? Do you know? T: Not really… N: What about the Culture Constitution? T: I don’t know, but we made something like that in our classroom. N: In your classroom? You made a Culture Constitution in your classroom at the Community Academy? T: I don’t know if it was called the Culture Constitution, but we uh… took a paper…a long piece of paper and we wrote down stuff…like on the real constitution? We wrote down stuff similar to that (14:23) N: Like the Bill of Rights and stuff like that (T nods). Well what do you is the purpose when they have you recite the Culture Constitution during Community Meeting here? T: I think…it’s to remember what you’re supposed to be…what you’re supposed to do…and how you’re supposed to act…and what you should try to do. N: Do you think that reciting it and learning about the Culture Constitution has helped you like in school and stuff? Or has it affected you at all? T: Hasn’t affected me at all N: It hasn’t? Ok. Do you think it’s a good idea? Having the Culture Constitution? Or do you think they can take that out. T: I don’t really think it’s doing anything. N: Ok. Alright. Well tell me about Ms. Aishah and Ms. Andrea. T: Um. What about them? N: What do they do, and what has been your experience with them so far. Like what are their roles here and what has been your interaction with them so far. T: I think they um…are pretty good. I think they’re doing good the way they’re doing N: Do you get to talk to them often? T: Yes N: Do you get along with them both pretty well? T: Yes N: What do you think their expectations of you are? T: To go beyond the limit. Yeah. To…make…to um…not to make B’s and C’s and stuff…to make A’s N: So they have pretty high expectations of you? T: Yes. N: Tell me about your mentors. Who are your mentors? T: Ms. Via, Ms. Jen, and Ms. Lucy N: Ok. Tell me about your classes with them. T: I have Ms. Lucy on Thursday…for math. I have….I don’t remember if Ms. Via or Ms. Jen is on Monday or Tuesday…I have Monday I have technology, and Tuesday is Literature. N: Ok. I think…I wanna say Ms. Jen does Literature. Ok, so what do you think of them? Or, do you like the classes with them? All of them or some of them? Some better than others? T: I like the technology class the best…and Literature… N: Why do you like those two? T: Because in Literature…we read and stuff…and then we do things for points…and then we get prizes. And in the technology classroom, we get to get on the computer, and create um…Microsoft…we go on Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word and create slideshows and stuff. (17:41). N: Ok. What about Math? T: In math…in math…we…she taught us about negatives and positives and like negatives take away positives N: Do you like that class? T: Yeah N: You like all your mentors? T: Yeah N: If you could describe the perfect mentor…like thinking about the things that you like about your teachers and your mentors…what would be the perfect mentor…like what would be the qualities that they would have? T: Um…They listen to you…They listen to you….they always try to help you…they try to be nice and they try to make the class fun for you so that you can learn comfortably…and…that they try to work on you for…to your education N: Um Hm. Do you think you have that with all of your mentors that you have now? T: Yes N: You do? Well that’s good. Do you feel like you have that with Ms.Aishah and Ms. Andrea. T: Yes. N: Do you think the gender of your mentor makes a difference? T: No N: No? What about the race? T: No N: No? Ok. Do you know whatchu wanna do when you get older? T: Huh? N: Do you know what you want to do when you get older? T: Yeah…I think…I wanna be a teacher or a football player N: If you are a teacher, what kind of teacher do you wanna be? T: I want to be one who has a good…um…a good communication with the children and that always keeps them happy. N: Do you feel like you have that with your teacher? T: No. At, school no. N: You don’t feel like your teacher listens to you very well? T: Yeah…Sometimes N: Sometimes she does? Or sometimes you feel that way? T: Yeah N: Ok. And if you’re gonna be a football player, which team would you play for? T: The Cowboys N: No, the Cowboys? I’ll forgive you for that one (he chuckles) If you’d said the Panthers, then we could talk. T: My grandmother…she’s from North Carolina N: Is she? What part? T: I don’t really know N: I’m from Charlotte…See if she’s from Charlotte. T: Ok. N: Well we’re all done! (20:35) 14