THE EXIT INTERVIEW

It will be your responsibility to interview an individual who has had a lasting influence upon your way of thinking and acting. This interview will eventually be turned into a blog post entitled “The Exit Interview” in which you reflect upon your experience interviewing this person and how his or her advice might be used in your life outside of high school.

You may ask this person any relevant questions you choose, the only requirements for this assignment are:

• You must quote them directly (i.e. whatever they say that’s important (which doesn’t mean everything), you quote them word for word in your response
• You must introduce them and explain why you’ve chosen them…and you must conclude your assignment with a reflection on how it went and what you learned.

You might want to begin your interview with this open-ended question:

“As the time grows near for me to leave home, what is the most importa

nt message or belief that you hope I will take with me and remember throughout my entire life?”

Interviewing advice::

• Have your questions written down before you begin interviewing this person. Your questions should be specific to the person you’re interviewing. For example: If you’re interviewing your grandmother, ask her about her life and what advice she passed onto her daughter/son (your father/mother)
• Listen carefully! If you’ve chosen this person, there’s a reason. Listen to the details of their experiences.
• Take clear notes on what this adult says, just like a reporter investigating a news story. Most cell phones have a “Record” function; recording your subject will definitely help the content of this assignment. If you don’t want to record, have a piece of paper out and pen/pencil at the ready. Take notes!
• Ask probing questions in this interview so that you will understand exactly why the adult has chosen this specific message to share. You want to know how the adult has tried to follow this personal advice in his or her own life. Truth is in the specifics!
• Think deeply about what you want your life to look like in the future, and then ask this person for advice regarding how to get there.

* Be advised: posting without direct quotes is a clear give away that you’ve fabricated an interview.