My first week of interviews went pretty much as planned. Thomas showed up in his typically late fashion, the boy can never seem to be on time. We talked briefly about sports and then got started right away. Thomas answered the question in a very matter of fact manner. I got the sense from him that this would be a lot more difficult for him than he would be willing to let on. The first set of questions are very general in nature. They are eight questions all dealing with the history of his parent’s divorce. They are several feelings questions involved. It was these questions that seem to upset him slightly (What was the hardest thing for you about the divorce, Does your parent’s divorce still affect you? Explain.).
Thomas is a kid who on the outside has it all together, nothing shakes him. I found out in a matter of minutes that Thomas is still greatly affected by his parent’s divorce. His unwillingness to elaborate on anything let me know real quickly that we would need to change our approach with Thomas or risk losing him in this study.
We decided to put the questions away and just talk. This seemed to relax Thomas a great deal. I was able to share with him my own experiences and feelings about my parent’s divorce. I shared with him my struggles growing up in a divorce family both socially and academically. Thomas was like a different young man sharing his feelings and adding to the things I was saying. I begin to ask him questions in the midst of our conversation. Thomas begin to open up completely, he answered every question without even realizing it. We talked for about forty minutes before we needed to move on into the specifics about what Knightville High School could do to help him. Thomas was in a hurry to get to practice so we had to cut the interview a little short. I am looking forward to the rest of the interviews and getting together with these students for our group discussions.
I have learned a couple of things from my first interview. I am certain that we will continue to ask the questions in a more conversational manner. Thomas was not very receptive with the firing of questions one right after the other, but seemed to answer them willingly when they came up in conversation. I guess we will continue to perfect or interviewing skills. The second is that I think going forward it will be important for me to share with the students my story. If I want them to be open and honest with me they need to see that I have walked in their shoes. I also realized that I will need to allow some extra time for the interviews, this topic is sensitive and may take us more than hour to get through what we need to. And lastly, is that you never really get over your parents’ divorce (not at 15 or 37). I have only conducted one interview and it has already stirred up feelings about my own parent’s divorce, something I was not expecting.
Scott Heavner
Comments (7)
I wondered how the students would respond in these situations (being part of a research study and being interviewed by a teacher). I agree with you that you have to make them comfortable first and once they open up, they will begin to tell you what you want to know. It will be interesting to see as you continue if all of your participants' interviews go the same way or if others open easily and what sets them apart from the others, if anything.
Posted by Roxie Miller | March 20, 2009 2:37 PM
Posted on March 20, 2009 14:37
I think you handled the situation really well in dealing with the students feeling. This is not an easy thing to talk to them about. I hope you can really get them to open up and give you some rich details about the situation they are in. This research could be something that could help many teachers in dealing with some of these students who are going through the same situation. Keep plugging along and before you know it you will have one of them hit a home run.
Posted by Scott Harrill | March 21, 2009 8:40 AM
Posted on March 21, 2009 08:40
"We decided to put the questions away and just talk."
I have great respect for you to take on such a difficult, but important topic. Your method of getting to the conversational tone will be valuable not only for the purposes of this project, but also for building that collaborative feeling in the school community at large. Keep up the good work!
Posted by Conrad Martin | March 21, 2009 8:47 AM
Posted on March 21, 2009 08:47
I think this would be a tought topic to interview kids about! It sounds like you have already made adjustments to how your interviews are going to go. I have taught many young children whose parents are divorced, and I see the pain in their eyes when they are reminded about it. I know exactly how you feel about the interview stirring up feeling insides your own head, because as I interview, I start to think about what the people are saying, and it makes you want to go out and do something about it. I think you may be on to a really dynamic topic, and I can't wait to read more about it.
Posted by Matt Maurer | March 21, 2009 8:52 AM
Posted on March 21, 2009 08:52
I think that talking to students and letting them know that you have gone through the same thing, helps. They get to see you in a different way. I think that you made a good decision to take it in that direction. He might be willing to do more for you and talk more to you since you opened up.
Posted by Heather Greene | March 21, 2009 9:52 PM
Posted on March 21, 2009 21:52
GOOD INSTINCTS, Scott! There are so many things that you can never anticipate in an interview, so you have to go with your gut. Good call. And, I'm so glad that you mentioned, at the conclusion, that you are learning something about yourself too in the research process. I think a good study always changes the researcher in some way.
Posted by Alecia Jackson | March 23, 2009 9:00 PM
Posted on March 23, 2009 21:00
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