Rick Cahoon, 20-year teacher at Shepherd High School and Andrew Wawersik, first-year teacher at Harrison Community Schools, reflect on the past two years and offer insight into the future of their profession.
Wawersik, who completed his student teaching in the spring of 2019 during the height of the pandemic, has had no shortage of challenges within his first year in his new career. Cahoon, being more experienced, believes that the future of teaching may be at stake.
The final cut of my interview with Andrew Joslin – worthy of noting is the lack of Black Rifle Coffee Co. plugs in this cut as opposed to the raw footage.
A story I’ve been following for over a year now, Andrew Joslin, a local member of the Michigan National Guard, and his trials and tribulations. This interview is more-or-less an introductory narrative, that which I hope will introduce you to his story so that you will want to come back for more.
Scroll to the bottom for personal testimony of this interview…
So, as far as interviews go, this wasn’t exactly my best work. I laugh a lot, someone (I think both of us, actually) had a runny nose, the heater was running in the corner at full-blast (though that, at least, was a necessity). I have no idea what interviewing style I employed, I’m not even sure that I know what interviewing styles are. My method for getting to know someone through a journalistic prism is the art of the photo story.
The sound seems to be in order and relatively clean, barring the occasional sniffle and… his chairs were incredibly wobbly. You could hear it a few times.
The questions I asked in the beginning were indeed vague. I made my way through it by knowing what answers I wanted to get (being that I know the story after following it for so long), so that made asking the pointed questions even easier. I don’t believe I had much trouble, other than once finding the words.
I didn’t interrupt this time as I usually do (except in the beginning where we were “breaking the ice”), I made a conscious effort to use more, and better, nonverbal cues.
My follow-up questions were occasionally weak, but I don’t know exactly how I could’ve made them stronger in this instance.
Oh lord… he never said his name… whoops…
What would I do differently? Ask him his name.
I think I have learned a few things. Not that I hope to interview anyone ever again, but should the need arise I do believe I can comply with skills gleaned of this exercise.
Well, again, forgot to have him say his name. Suppose that’s one flaw of interviewing someone you know. So after that, the part where he talks initially about why he’s in the Guard.
Quote I expect to end with: “Gun one? Most motivated gun in the section. Hands down – I will fight anyone to this day about that.”
Drew Travis Photography 