Interview with Debbie Taylor, History 150 Spring 2023, Conducted by Maggie Stade, March 14, 2023.
Overview to interview:
The year of 2020 was a major setback to the entire world, especially teachers. The education system had to be revamped and adapted to not only by students, but teachers too. Covid-19 took a toll on many and made it unknown of what the future of the education system would look like. From using online meeting platforms like zoom to deadlines being near midnight for every assignment, teachers had to put their best foot forward while being in this hard time, especially PE teachers. In this interview, Debbie Taylor shares her experience being a PE teacher during the pandemic and how she adapted to the new way of learning. She gives examples of how she motivated students to interact in workouts through the computer, to some of the hardships she faced while trying to make connections with students through a screen.
Being a female in a male dominated field can also have major setbacks as well. Debbie Taylor is one of very few female PE teachers at her school (Gainsville High School) which can be very intimidating. Women in the workplace is a major theme that many people are starting to really shed light on today. Many women in male dominated workplaces can feel look down upend or even ignored. Debbie shares her experience being a female PE teacher while juggling all of the hardships of the pandemic. Although she may have had some setbacks, she gives great examples of how being a female in her field can come to her advantage. Making connections with students comes naturally to Debbie, as she explains in the interview, many students see her as a “mother figure” because she is so nurturing. Teaching physical education may look different than it did 20 years ago, but Debbie will take you through her experience and journey of helping students.
Biography:
Deborah (Debbie) Lynn Taylor was born on June 12th 1972 in Woodbridge, Virginia. She attended public school in Prince William County, where she now resides and teaches at, and soon achieved her Bachelors of science and education at Old Dominion University. After graduating from there she worked very hard to earn a Masters in education administration at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She has been a PE teacher for 14 years and has taught elementary, middle, and high school students while raising her four children. Debbie is a mother of two college students and two public school students. I will be interviewing Debbie on the effects and challenges she faced while teaching through the Covid-19 pandemic and how it shaped teachers and education in public school today. I will also like to bring up the theme of being a female in a male-dominant work environment and how it has affected her. Debbie has also coached girls soccer in middle and high school to extend her love and passion for the sport to her players and students. She is now in her third year teaching at Gainesville High School in Gainesville, Virginia after transitioning from Benton Middle school where she taught for 11 years. Her passion and determination for teaching has never gone dull and she continues to inspire students everyday.
Research:
The Covid-19 Pandemic affected teachers and students in a way like never before. The education system was permanently changed in 2020 with the way teachers would teach material and how technology would come into play. J. Micheal Ryan gives insight to what teaching was like for many in his Pandemic Pedagogies, giving examples of how technology played a big factor into the school system. The pandemic was a huge disruption to the education system that teachers had to navigate through. Many schools and teachers felt threatened with how they would handle the circumstances, it was inly a matter of time until network systems like Canvas and zoom were adapted. These systems that were adopted because of the pandemic are now used on a daily basis at public schools and universities throughout the country. Even when all hope was lost and it was impossible to look forward, many teachers used this opportunity to grow and adapt from the situation.
Women in the workplace is a very inspiring topic in todays society. Many females in male-dominated workplaces can feel looked down upon and face many hardships that are never talked about. Adia Wingfield in the volume Gender in the Twenty-First Century : the Stalled Revolution and the Road to Equality, gives insight in what her experiences were working in a male dominated field. She describes that men are often hostile, unwelcoming, and isolated when it comes to a minority, making it difficult for her to succeed and grow. It can be challenging for females to experience situations like this, no matter the work place. Making a welcoming and equal environment for women is definitely something that will help the future of the workplace in America.
Transcription:
MS 0:00: Go ahead and introduce yourself.
DT 0:02: Hi, my name is Debbie Taylor.
MS 0:06: So tell me about your career development and how you first got interested in becoming a teacher.
DT 0:11: I was in high school and I started working in the summer at miniland [daycare center]. That was my first experience around younger children. And I started getting really interested in their growth, educational development, cognitive development, social development. And that kind of spearheaded me in choosing education as a major when I went to college.
MS 0:37: You grew up in and went to the same [school] county you teach in now, explain how things have evolved in public school since you were a kid?
DT 0:44: Well, when I was in high school, we had no technology,[computers, phones, etc.] there is no internet. So the biggest change I see is just all of the technology that we have good and bad. A lot of positive comes from having technology with helping kids learn, but then a lot of negative comes as well.
MS 1:10: Okay, next question.
MS 1:14: So you’re a female phys ed teacher in a male dominated, basically area of school, describe the hardships and challenges you have faced being a female physical education teacher and Coach [for girls soccer] since beginning teaching.
DT 2:29: I don’t think it was any hardship, if anything, being a female helped me securing a position right out of college because there wasn’t a lot of females applying it was more males. So they’re always looking for female PE teachers. So it was easy for me to find a job. And also with being a female PE teacher in the school. I feel like a lot of the times in class, a lot of the students would always come up to me if they needed anything outside of any studies, it was emotional support, or they’re having a bad day, I was more of like a counselor, mother figure to these kids, as well as being their PE teacher. So no hardship, just all positives.
MS 2:17: In school are you able to make connections with students.
DT 2:20: Yes, I think I think I have an easier time making connections with students because our atmosphere is more relaxed and not so structured as much, especially when we’re in PE. There’s a lot of like, active time when we’re up. There’s time where students can come approach me pull me to the side, and have one on one time with me. So I That’s why I feel like we were a counselor hat as well.
MS 2:48: Okay, so you’re a middle school teacher for how many years?
DT 2:53: 11.
MS 2:54: And you’re now in your second year of high school?
DT 2:57: Yes.
MS 2:58: Okay. So explain some differences you first noticed when transitioning from middle school to high school in terms of in terms of respect from students,
DT 3:07: The respect from going from middle to high school was a big jump. The maturity level between middle schoolers and high schoolers is huge. They do grow up a lot from eighth grade, going into ninth grade. So I felt like teaching high school I didn’t have I don’t have to deal with the behavior problems that I had to deal with in middle school. And sometimes that would take away from education and class instructional time because I was having to deal with so many discipline problems. So that’s the one major positive that I’ve enjoyed these last two years in high school is not having to worry about behavior problems with the older students.
MS 3:52: Do you like being in high school better?
DT 3:54: Yes, if I had a choice I, I would choose high school or middle school. I did enjoy my time at middle school. But I just like high school much better probably because I do have teenagers of my own. And because I know that these kids are going to be going off to college and we only have them for two or three years.
MS 4:17: Okay, so you were a teacher during the COVID 19 pandemic. How did the challenges from the COVID 19 pandemic affect how you teach material now?
DT 4:29: Well, it was a difficult time for sure. It affected me as I had to learn Canvas [school networking platform] and all these different type of new technology platforms that honestly colleges and universities already we’re using, but we weren’t using it because we weren’t teaching virtually. So it’s actually helped me become more organized in health. And it’s it’s been an asset I believe, because in health, I use canvas now to post all of my modules, assignments, and anything that we’re delivering in health, we use Canvas. So it was not fun being home the whole entire time, because I couldn’t be in with the students. But the one positive takeaway is learning that new platform and being able to teach through it. Great assignments, it just made me more efficient as a teacher, I think.
MS 5:37: Okay. Did you experience any challenges with adjusting from teaching on Zoom to back in person?
DT 5:45: Definitely, yes. I felt like it was more relaxed when we were home and on Zoom, it was more of just, you know, having to get up and drive into work that adds an extra hour on to your day, getting back into that routine. And, and, you know, when we stay at home, we’re able to just get up, go downstairs, make sure we are dressed appropriately and get on Zoom, it wasn’t this mad rush to get ready to get your kids to school and to get into work. So just getting back into that routine was last year was hard or when we went back that year, what was that 2021 and the spring, it was a big adjustment.
MS 6:35: Okay. So, again, with being on Zoom and teaching PE, how did you engage students in participating in physical activity, while being under the circumstances of the COVID 19 pandemic.
DT 6:48: We had to be as creative as possible. And part of the it was hard getting students to turn their cameras on and to actually get up and participate with us when we were doing activity, we had to do a lot of like, on your own logs, [logging their excercises] where students would like go do fitness on their own time. So a lot of it was honor code. So we were trusting them that they were going and doing different fitness activities on their own logging it and then turning in for an assignment. But we would try to incorporate like aerobic classes, peloton [cycling] classes, any type of like classes where we could share our screen. And then they could follow along with the workouts. And if students had their cameras on, a lot of them weren’t actually participating. But not all of them were but you know, we just did the best we could to try to get them involved in at least give them the option to follow along with the workout. But we couldn’t really enforce it because we weren’t at school, it was more of an honor code with the students.
MS 8:00: Did you ever have any behavior issues over zoom that you’ve had to deal with? And how did you deal with them?
DT 8:07: No, not not me. I know a lot of people that did, but I if anything, it would just be people playing music in the background, or maybe saying something kind of inappropriate. But it was really easy because I was all I had to do was message them on the side or mute them and message them on the side [through zoom call] and say, Hey, don’t do that again. So I could pull them out really quickly. And then put them back in. So I actually kind of like that feature.
MS 8:40: Did you ever use the breakout rooms [feature in zoom where students could interact in small groups] in the zoom?
DT 8:43: Yes, all the time, all the time. We use breakout rooms. I like that. And then I could bounce around and visit the different breakout rooms and make sure students had their cameras on and they were actually participating. But yeah, it was a good feature to try to get them to talk with other students in the class, communicate, collaborate. Since we were all stuck at home.
MS 9:12: Next question, How did you feel when we transitioned back to in person learning post pandemic, describe some of the fears or concerns you had for the future of your students and teaching.
DT 9:25: I was ready to go back to work. I wasn’t scared because we were getting our shots and vaccinations. And we were wearing masks. So I was ready to go back. I wasn’t afraid for my own students or my own children to go back. I I felt like if everybody didn’t have any underlying illnesses and they were healthy, and they were vaccinated that they would be safe and we would be safe and they were taking extra precautions [social distancing, limited people in one room] at our schools and cleaning every thing down, doing like, you know, separated seating every, like six feet apart, we had so many different protocols and precautions that I never was in fear at all. And I was ready to go back.
MS 10:15: So looking back at the COVID-19 pandemic, and teaching, do you think it affected you in a positive way or negative way?
DT 10:25: I think it affected me in a positive way. Meaning that it made me learn different instructional platforms that I could use for teaching. And it forced me to learn. And it also aside teaching, it made us spend more time with our families, and being home more and just enjoying the simple things in life, like having dinner at a table.
MS 10:58: And then, if you could give one takeaway from being a physical education teacher and female Coach, what would you tell people going in that direction or wanting to
DT 11:09: Oh, I think it’s a great career. I think if you love coaching, you know, you can affect so many athletes lives by putting the time and effort in and coaching practices games. A lot of times when kids leave, they go to high school and they go on, they always come back and they’re like, Oh, I remember you being my coach, or I remember you being my teacher. And you know, being an educator, it gives you different perks as of having your summers off and having time to spend with your family, your own children. And it’s a great career, you’re up and moving, you’re active, you’re staying fit, you’re healthy, you’re teaching everything that you know about long life skills of staying hittin fit and healthy. So I would encourage any female to go into this profession. It doesn’t pay the highest, but it’s a solid job and it keeps you from sitting at a desk and you’re up and about
MS 12:15: And rewarding job.
DT 12:17: And a very rewarding job.Yes.
MS 12:20: Well, that wraps up the interview. Thank you for your time. Is there anything else you want to say?
DT 12:26: I don’t think so.
MS 12:27: Okay, thank you.
DT 12:28: Thank you.
Technology Process:
This interview was conducted in person with an iPhone using the voice memos app. I did not have to edit it as much as I thought I was going to in terms of the transcription using Otter.ai. I did not edit the actual audio at all and I think the audio was picked up very well through the iPhone. I positioned the phone in the middle of my interviewee and I to get an equal amount of sound. Overall, I think the audio is very clear for what was used and I definitely would recommend using the voice memos app for an easy transition for when you have to upload the audio.
Bibliography:
Ryan, J. Michael. Pandemic Pedagogies : Teaching and Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Edited by J. Michael Ryan, Routledge, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003324096.
Davis, Shannon N., et al. Gender in the Twenty-First Century : the Stalled Revolution and the Road to Equality. Edited by Shannon N. Davis et al., University of California Press, 2017.
Jansen, Jonathan D., and Theola Farmer-Phillips. Teaching in and Beyond Pandemic Times. African Sun Media, 2021.