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Can you tell us about yourself? 

Hello, I'm Kathy Goehring and I teach at Dunbar Primary school in Lufkin, Texas. 

Why did you start a career in education?

I've been here 22 years since we started the school as a primary school, three poses careers, because I was raised by a teacher and saw that she loved it. And I felt like that I would be perfect to work with students.

If you could have any other job what would it be and why?

I could have another job besides teaching. I really liked the banking industry and the financial part of it. And I also have a business degree and I have done banking. So I really enjoy that type of work. 

How are kids different now than 30 years ago?

The kids, the kids nowadays are a lot different than they were, I would say 30 years ago. And I think a lot of that is because both parents work and a lot of them are at home alone and they have this technology and they don't get out as much in play like we did when we were children. It is a lot different from what I saw my mom do 30 years ago.

How is teaching different now than 30 years ago?

I stay late and I do a lot of visiting with the parents. Whereas I remember my mother, she didn't bring work home and she didn't work on weekends. So I don't know the difference in that, but she did have a lot more students in her class. She had, I've seen pictures of her room and she had 30 and 40 students in her class and they were all lined up and all doing workbooks and our kids don't do that. 

What would you tell someone who wants to become a teacher?

What would I tell someone going into the education field right now? I would tell them to really think about that and to maybe specialize and look at some kind of special field in the education realm of things. Maybe not just going into a classroom, but be able to zone in on some specials.

What would you change to help kids learn better?

Let's see what is one thing I would change with the teaching now? Uh, I would lot more one-on-one with the kids and be able to have more time with small groups. So that way the ones that really need the extra help, I would have the time to do that and to change, to help them learn. Um, I would like some volunteers, I would like volunteers to be able to come into the classroom and to work with groups of kids and send it just me. I would like more help, uh, that way I could cover more ground with the kids. Thank you.