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questions and could not believe what I read. The supposed test had questions like “What book must you bring on Wednesday every week?” and “Describe what happens to a student who has just received his/her fourth tardy.” Was this a test on school policies or English? I look around the classroom, searching for any clue that would indicate that this was not typical. Instead, I saw students very concentrated working on their tests. I wondered if this was normal. I worried.
As 2:10 p.m. approached, Mr. Stucchi collected the tests and reminded his students that they needed to turn in their compositions on Monday. Furthermore, their compositions had to be signed by their parents. Groans came from the back of the room. “It is very easy to get an A in my class,” Mr. Stucchi reminded them. “All you have to do is turn in all of your work.” Was that it? Just turn in all of their work?I know that force the students to be responsible, but where was the challenge? I felt betrayed. What had happened to the Mr. Stucchi I had known?
The bell rang, leaving my question unanswered. I wondered if I even wanted an answer. “What book do you bring on Monday?” Mr. Stucchi asked his departing students. “The big book!” the students yelled. “Great!” said Mr. Stucchi, “see you on Monday.”
I walked to the front of the classroom and waited while Mr. stucchi answered questions and accepted late papers. Once the classroom had cleared out, Mr. Stucchi asked, “Are you ready for the interview now?” I didn’t feel ready. I felt disappointed and disillusioned. Frustrated and hurt, I told him that I was not sure where to begin.
“Okay, then,” Mr. Stucchi replied, “I’ll start.” I sat back and got ready to take notes. I was so disoriented that I completely forgot about the tape recorder I had in my backpack.
As an undergraduate at U.C. Berkeley, Mr. Stucchi double majored in English and history. In his twenty years as a high school teacher, Mr. Stucchi has taught primarily English, but he has also enjoyed teaching several history classes. Knowing that he had been the head of the English Department while I was in high school, I asked him if he still held the position. “No, they kicked me out,” he replied. “I wanted to integrate history and English and none of the teachers liked the idea, and now they have stuck me out in the C-wing when the English Department is in the D-wing.” I knew that the two wings were quite a distance from one other. I had the impression that there was more to the story, but I did not want to ask him more questions. Instead, I asked Mr. Stucchi if he enjoyed teaching five freshman English classes. “By giving teachers freshmen, they are punishing the teachers they do not like,” he replied. I made a note of his response and decided to change the subject.
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When I asked Mr. Stucchi about the structure of the class, he replied “I would focus on classroom management”. However, he seemed very defensive. Instead of allowing me to ask questions, he told me that there was a specific classroom routine and then proceeded to explain all the reasons for its use. Without telling me what the routine was, Mr. Stucchi explained its benefits: “A routine gives them security. The students know what they are doing and how to do it.” The idea of a strict routine seemed to me very restrictive and boring, so I asked Mr. Stucchi if he ever got bored. He explained that his classroom routine was flexible enough to change and that the routine “never gets boring because the students are individuals.”
I asked Mr. Stucchi to describe his classroom routine. He explained that Mondays were spent reading and discussing literature, both spelling and vocabulary were included on Tuesdays, Wednesdays were spent doing grammar exercises from the “little book,” Mr. Stucchi's own grammar exercises were covered on Thursdays, and students could count on a test each Friday. I wanted to ask Mr. Stucchi if the week’s work included reviewing school policies so that students could be tested on them at the end of the week, too. But I did not. Instead, I asked him how he determined what questions to include on the test. Mr. Stucchi explained that the tests were more like a weekly review because the test questions were taken from the worksheets and study guides assigned that week. I still wondered about the policy questions. I decided to drop it. As a former student of Mr. Stucchi's, I felt uncomfortable with the thought of challenging his teaching philosophy or questioning his testing methods.
I moved on. I asked about writing: “What about writing, Mr. stucchi? This is an English class, isn’t it?” Mr. Stucchi explained that every third Thursday students write a major composition, that makes a total of twelve major compositions in one school year. Mr. Stucchi seemed happy to end the interview here, so I complied. Somehow the interview had not turned out to be what I had expected at all. Perhaps I had expected too much.
Mr. Stucchi and I walked back to his office and discussed my own plans to become a teacher. I confessed my fears and reservations about the profession. “If you come and work with me, I’ll teach you everything,” Mr. Stucchi told me. “I’ll be sure that you have a life!” Mr. Stucchi explained that teachers often become overwhelmed with the demands of teaching five or six classes, taking professional growth courses, and maintaining a personal and private life outside of teaching. He promised me that with his methods, I could learn to balance my professional and personal lives. The offer sounded good, but I did not want Mr. Stucchi to be my Master Teacher.
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As our conversation came to a close, I realized that it was not Mr. Stucchi the person who had changed, but Mr. Stucchi the teacher. I left my old high school
feeling melancholy and a bit sad; a person whom I had admired, respected, and esteemed for many years had come down from his pedestal in one short afternoon. The observation and interview taught me an important lesson: The need to keep one’s teaching fresh and new and to somehow avoid teacher burn-out.
