Jeffrey Rogers

Professor Connelly
English 20
17 March 2016
Discourse Community Examination and Interview
There are many discourse communities in society and many people choose their specific
discourse community by their interest in certain subject. My interview will be conducted on a
special education teacher. This will help me better understand the discourse community of
teachers in the special education field. I work with this teacher currently at O. W. Erliwine, in
her classroom. She has a class of 11 students ranging from high capability to low capability. The
teachers name is Miss Anita Gleason, she is a very great teacher and is so passionate about
teacher these amazing kids. I work with her twice a week for 7 hours a week. My major is child
development with a minor in mathematics and statistics. My goal is to get my degree in child
development and then go to grad school and get a degree in special education. To me this is
much more than just teaching children with a disability or teaching in general, it is something I
want to do because I am passionate and want to change peoples lives. I think that teachers in
general don't get enough credit, they help those that become doctors or lawyers. They strive to
inspire and motivate people to become who they are and to achieve their goals. They not only
teach us about the subjects they are known for but teach us something about ourselves like what
subjects we are interested in and what really gets our attention. I think it is a very great
profession that I want to get into. To better comprehend this discourse community I conducted an
interview on Friday, March 11. On Friday, March 11, I got the pleasure of interviewing Miss

Anita. I have been working with her for about two months now. Throughout the interview I
asked 13 questions, some a little more personal than others. I really got to know my mentor
through this interview. I see Miss Anita as a mentor to me because she models exactly how I
want to be when working with my students. To me she fits the perfect special education teacher.
But through this interview I got somewhat personal with my mentor and she discussed things
with me that she said she had not really told everyone. Opening up to a complete stranger that
has only volunteered for about two months is not only an amazing opportunity for me but such a
trustworthy thing on her part. I will now explain to you the journey that Miss Anita has went
through to become a special education teacher and discuss the 6 principles Swales discusses
about a discourse community.
What is a discourse community? According to Swales a discourse community are groups
that have goals or purposes, and use communication to achieve these goals. (Swales 7) It all
starts off in school, from when we are young to high school and beyond. We determine who we
want to hang out with and what sports or activities we do, or even where you are from. It is all
choices for a discourse community. But in any form, it starts off at school. So there were a few
questions I asked Miss Anita about her life, activities, and the schools she attended to become a
special education teacher. Miss Anita grew up in Virginia and Pennsylvania, so mostly on the
East coast. This implemented into where she went to college, she attended College of William
and Mary in Virginia. It took her 4 years to get her Bachelors in multi subject education, and then
she went on to get her special education masters a few years later. The reason why she did it a
few years after was because she was not that interested in it, until it hit her family. Previously she
wanted to work for the state department of California. But then sadly her son got diagnosed with

a disability. She then went to school for a year and a half for a masters in special education. So
the main reason why she became a special education teacher was because her son. She went to
school for him and to make him proud. Her son then got independent and she was super happy.
Some things she does outside of school and school related things are read, paint, and exercise.
She did say that she would love to travel again, she use to travel before she had a serious job and
family. Another question I wanted to know was how long she spends outside of class working for
the classroom, she said 3-4 hours a day outside of the classroom. She even said she comes in
early and stays late. This was quite astonishing to me, most of the time I thought it was like a few
hours a week, maybe more if there was a test or essay due that week. One thing that I was
interested in was what her favorite part of teaching was, The kids! She said she loves working
with the kids and seeing their progress through the trimesters. She said seeing progress in her
kids makes her keep going for that ultimate goal. This falls perfectly into my next topic.
What is the ultimate goal, or in Swales case, the Common Public Goal of teaching.
According to Swales, The Common Public Goal are the values and standards of the discourse
community. (Swales 7) I explained this to Miss Anita and she said that her and all teachers
goals are to make better citizens who are involved and capable. Citizens who can make educated
decisions on their own. She said that this is what every teacher wants and strives for, she did
explain that it is more difficult with children with disabilities, but it is possible and anyone who
believes and wants to make change, can. To me this is an awesome goal to have and strive to
accomplish. This makes me even more eager to get started.
How would teachers Exchange Information in a professional or quick manner?
Information Exchange is how members of a particular discourse community exchange

knowledge. (Swales 7) Not only are there many ways to exchange information, but also there
are many people they exchange information with. Miss Anita said she checks her email daily and
spends an hour or two responding to all of the emails sent to her. She said she sometimes gets
phone calls or texts, but not very often. She said she is quite hesitant giving out her phone
number, but in her profession it is sometimes needed for quick communication. She also said that
she communicates with parents and the students by sending home a daily report of how they did.
This is based off of a number system, a face scale, and a comment box. She bases the numbers
on how well they did, then the face scale is either happy, sad, or in the middle, and then
comments on the day and what they did. So this is how parents see what their child did in the day
and if they were good. Information Exchange can also correspond to the Forum.
According to Swales, A Forum is the place where information might be exchanged for
that particular discourse community. (Swales 8) Miss Anita said there are at least three meetings
a month. She said that there are even more depending on the time of year and what they are
discussing. She also said that there is a place called the Serna Center, this is where all special
education teachers meet at least once a month to discuss new findings and such things. She did
say that the district is now trying to have all grades come together on Google Docs and discuss
things there. She said that it is tricky having all teachers on this and that the district is still in the
trial period with this.
According to Swales, Genre are various types of writing within a specific discourse
community. (Swales 8) Miss Anita said that for her profession there are two main types of
genres. One involving the job overall and the other one involving the class. She said involving
the job she uses emails, documentation, and research/testing. Miss Anita said that she has to

document everything about these kids. She also has to research and test things. She has to test the
ability of these kids and research things to help them. This will make them see if they go to the
next grade or even exit the classroom of special education. She reports all of this to people higher
up. Another type of genre she writes in is in class with her kids. They have been making story
books that help them learn. Such as science books, they describe how plants form and what they
need to survive. Simple to know, but these students make the book with Miss Anita to fully
comprehend the material. These are just some of the genres that Miss Anita mentioned.
Do you think that there are different types of Terminology used between teachers? Well
there is. According to Swales, Terminology is language or terms that are specific to a discourse
community. (Swales 8) Miss Anita said that they use a lot of academic terms, the main one
being differentiate. They want to help grow these young kids into something even more great.
When I asked her to define it more, she simply said that it can go any way. She strives to changes
these kids lives and help them grow. It is spectacular to me that she cares so much for these
children that will be gone in a year's time. This is how I want to be when I am a special education
teacher. I want to be an expert just like Miss Anita.
My last question from my interview on Miss Anita was somewhat a difficult one. How
can you possibly become an Expert in this field? According to Swales, Being an expert
someone that is familiar with all of the above terms in relation to their discourse community, and
they possess the ability to share this knowledge with prospective members. (Swales 8)
According to Miss Anita she thinks that no one can become an expert in this field. She said that
everything changes and that children change and that there is always room to grow. She says that
she tries to read books and articles that would help her guide her class. She said most of all she

uses trial and error. She said not everything she was taught or everything she reads is spot on, so
she tries things and then determines if it works. She said that she uses a book called Gened for
Special Education, she said this book helps a lot and explains things that could have helped her
for her multi-subject classes. More importantly she said that she is always adapting and adjusting
to her students needs. She reads other teachers case studies or reads articles about certain
disabilities. Miss Anita had an article in her bag about kids with moderate to severe reading
disabilities. She said this cannot only be used for her kids but other classes. She said everyone
struggles with something and they can be helped. Listening to Miss Anita talk was amazing, I
truly believe she is an expert.
My definition of Swales is somewhat similar to his own definitions. First a discourse
community to me is a group of people that has all the same or similar goals. This can be in many
different situations such as church or school, it can differ because there are so many discourse
communities. Second the common public goal to me is the what it says, the main goal that needs
to be accomplished. Next is information exchange is how teachers or anyone exchange
information by any means. Next is forum, to me this a meeting place where people meet. Next is
genre, which can be confusing for some. Genre is different types of writing and different ways of
writing. Lastly terminology is the diction used in any circumstances. My definitions are
somewhat similar to Swales, but I have my own spin.
My reflection is simple, the interview with Miss Anita was very educational and
inspirational. It opened my eyes even more to see how great it is to teach special education. I
asked her many questions and she was true and honest about all and it helped me understand
more about this discourse community. I have become more passionate about teaching in the

special education field after conducting this interview. Although there are many discourse
communities in the world, people choose the one fit for them based on their needs and interests.
My love for this discourse community will continue to grow and flourish, this paper and
interview has led me further into my interest and curiosity.

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Work Cited
Swales, John. ''The Concept of Discourse Community." Genre Analysis: English in Academic
and Research Settings. Boston: Cambridge UP, 1990.21-32. Print
Gleason, Anita. Interview Date: March 11, 2016.