9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Need/opportunity: There is a lack of quality in public schools' education partially because of improper funding and lack of incentives to do better as employees.

Interviews:

Interview #1: Hallie, my friend who went to private school
Hallie says that she hasn't really experienced this need because she went to private school all her life, but she can see why many people would have this need. She thinks that a huge reason that her education might have been a bit better is because her teachers had incentives to do better at their jobs and provide a quality learning experience for their students.

Interview #2: Dani, my friend whose mother worked as a teacher at a private school
Dani says that she understands this need by putting herself in the shoes of a student who goes to a public school, but because she's only ever been to a private school, she hasn't really experienced this need firsthand. Her mother is a teacher at her old private high school and she says that her mother got bonuses and plenty of incentives, which made her want to do a better job. She also says that her supervisors paid a lot more close attention to her work than supervisors at a public school might have.

Interview #3: Juan, my friend who attended public school
My friend Juan says that while he agrees that this need exists, he has little experience with having this need. He says that his public high school was relatively great. He says that it was the best school in his school district. He wasn't aware of whether or not teachers at his school were being given incentives to do a better job, but he does know that the supervisors kept a close eye on teachers at the school. He thinks this is why he received a quality education at his school. He does admit that he did have a bad teacher here and there, but for the most part he had a good experience.

Interview #4: Alexi, a friend who was homeschooled 6th-12th grade
Alexi says that she hasn't experienced this need because she was homeschooled. She says that she definitely agrees the need exists, and this need is part of the reason she switched to home schooling after 5th grade. Her mother didn't want to put her into any of the middle schools in their area because of how poorly they were rated educationally and how bad of a reputation they had. She says that maybe if there had been a reform of the quality of public education, she might have gone to a public school.

Interview #5: Kiran, a friend whose uncle is a private school principal
Kiran says that he didn't attend private school, he attended public school, so he did experience this need. However, his uncle who lived a couple hours away is a private school principal. He knows that his uncle provides many opportunities for teachers and provides many incentives for them to do better, and because of this, the school is ranked among the best in the state. He keeps a close eye on his employees and is not afraid to penalize them for bad performance.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who: Students who are not receiving quality educations because of teachers who are not doing their jobs well enough. Teachers need incentives and supervisions to be better.	Who: People who go to private schools and schools that provide more incentive and supervision than most public schools do.
What: Teachers need more incentives to do better jobs and need more supervision to make sure that they are on track.	What: They don't need much more incentive and supervision because they already have it.
Why: Teachers don't have much incentive to do a good job so they perform poorly, resulting in poor educational experiences for students.	Why: These teachers have enough incentive and supervision to be able to want to do a good job, which results in a better education for the students.

Summary:
I have found through these interviews that not all teachers and students have this need. Mostly teachers and students at private schools do not have this need. I think that this is because they have better supervision and more incentive. I think that my interviews still support my opportunity belief.