Reaction to Criticism

     Q:  Tell me about a situation that frustrated you during student teaching
     A:  I was frustrated when my college supervisor made me write out my lesson plans for the first ten weeks of student teaching.  Many of my friends only had to write complete lesson plans for the first six weeks and then they went to “block plans.”  However, in talking with my supervisor I learned that it is always advisable to over-plan – that is, write lesson plans that are more detailed and more involved early in the teaching process.  I discovered the advantage of that on two occasions – once when an assembly had to be cancelled and another when a teacher on our social studies team called in sick at the last minute.  I sure was glad to have those extended and expanded lessons – they really came in handy.  I understand now why I was asked to do a lot of over-planning early in my student teaching experience.

            This question is designed to probe how you react to criticism.  Are you someone who blames everyone else when things don’t go right?  Or, are you someone who takes advice and uses it in a positive way to become a better teacher?  This is a grand opportunity for you to show how you turned a negative into a positive.

Reality Check

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK:      “It is not always the most qualified candidate who gets the job.  It is, quite often, the best prepared candidate who gets the job.”

            Let’s face it – teaching is tough and teaching interviews are also tough.  Don’t, for a minute, think that an interview is a casual walk through the park.  Far from it!  Under the best of circumstances it is a time when two individuals meet – one is trying to sell something, the other is trying to decide if she/he wants to buy it.  And the stakes are enormous.

·      The cost of hiring a brand new teacher is estimated to be approximately $75,000 - a figure that includes salary, benefits, training, health insurance, retirement fund and other “extras” for one year

·      An average teacher will earn approximately $4.2 million dollars (in salary alone) over the course of a 35-year career.  That’s quite an investment for a school district.  As you might imagine, they want to be sure they get their money’s worth.

When you are buying a new product (a new TV, a new car, a new computer) there are typically three things you want to know:

1.      Will I like it?

2.      Will it work properly?

3.      How long will it last?

Guess what, those are the same three questions an administrator want to know about every candidate who interviews for a teaching position (Will I like her/him?  Will she/he do an outstanding job?  Does she/he have specific strengths that address our educational goals for the long term?).  Answer all three questions to the satisfaction of the interviewer and, guess what, you have a job!  Fail to answer any one of them and you’ll probably find yourself in an endless series of interviews.