Outlier TV’s second segment features Dr. John Shufeldt interviewing educational outlier, Maribeth Sublette, on the pros and cons of being a teacher.
Dr. John Shufeldt questions Maribeth Sublette about the beginning of her career in education. Maribeth admits she had very long, trying days in the beginning, but soon mastered her days as time went on.
John Shufeldt then notes Maribeth’s passion for teaching and how her body language exudes her love for both education and her students. Even though she enjoys teaching, Maribeth notes pros and cons she has experienced.
The question “Should I be a teacher?” is not always easy to answer. However, the Outlier TV interviews will provide insights of what to expect in a career in education. More career tips and classroom management guidance is available in Maribeth’s interview in Outliers in Education by Dr. John Shufeldt. The book serves as a how-to guide for education majors and current teachers, designed to equip readers with classroom management tips, career advice, and act as a six segment mentorship session with seasoned elementary through college educators in various subjects.
Full Transcript:
[intro music]>>JOHN SHUFELDT: Hello there everybody and welcome back to Outliers television! We are with Maribeth Sublette, teacher extraordinaire and someone that we can all learn something from, probably no one more than myself. So Maribeth, welcome back.
>>MARIBETH SUBLETTE: Thank you very much.
>>JOHN SHUFEDLT: So give me an idea, when you were a teacher, about the time when I observed you, what was your typical day like?
>>MARIBETH SUBLETTE: Well, I got to school about 7:15, I had kind of a marathon day. So, every teacher has a prep hour when they teach high school. Mine was 7th hour which was the very last hour of the day. So, I taught from first hour to sixth hour, pretty much a marathon way through. I had a thirty minute lunch break, which is wild because I eat very slowly and students would always come in for quizzes, or tests, or makeups and I’m sitting there trying to fumble it. Basically my day, start to finish, when I was in front of students, was just an amazingly fantastic blur. I was in a bunch of different classrooms hoping around teaching English, AVID, being a being a remedial leader kind of support system, so I did a whole bunch. I would get there about 7:15, school started at 7:45 and ended at 2:30 and I would typically leave, it got a little bit easier as I progressed throughout my career. When I first began, I would not leave school until it was dark. It got where I could leave at four and then maybe then 3:30 3:45, but most days I was there until about dinner time.
>>JOHN SHUFELDT: So what I noticed about her is that she is someone who absolutely loves her job and I am always impressed by people who really work and you can just tell because every ounce of their body is screaming “I love what I’m doing.” So, what did you love about that job? Because the short time I was there, you had some kids in the class that were maybe a little harder to love than others.
>>MARIBETH SUBLETTE: Those are always the ones that I find myself loving a little bit extra. Not that I have favorites, because that would not be kind but I love things like that.
>>JOHN SHUFELDT: The challenges.
>>MARIBETH SUBLETTE: I do. I absolutely woke up every single morning excited to go to work. I loved my relationships with my students. I mean, when I got to school, when that first bell rang, I always greeted my students by standing by the door and welcoming every single one of them in the classroom. From the second that I saw them, I just, it excited every bit of excitement and passion that I had. I loved working with kids.
>>JOHN SHUFELDT: That is amazing. Okay, now, so here’s the flipside. What was the hardest part, the least favorite thing you did?
>>MARIBETH SUBLETTE: Now, like what I said, I loved working with my students. I loved everything that happened in the classroom. I mean, even instruction and assessment and the things that’s sometimes people don’t necessarily really enjoy, I loved to do writing which a lot of people were not into. But, the outside of the classroom aspect was difficult at times, they were trying. I found myself frustrated at times with the lack of trust that sometimes isn’t necessarily, the lack of trust that’s there for teachers. A lot of times people don’t necessarily trust educators, and trust that they are doing everything they possibly in order to make students successful. And so combating some of that was difficult. The lack of time to collaborate with other teachers is also a challenge. We were giving professional learning time, but a lot of that time was dictated. You need to do x, y, and z and there was not a whole lot of time to dialogue about this is what I love, this is what’s working, this is what’s not working, how have you combated this issue, and I wish there was a lot more of that.
>>JOHN SHUFELDT: Oh wow, thank you. That was Maribeth Sublette, we’ll be back again shortly with Outliers TV, thank you so much for watching.
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