What Frustrated You?

Most interviewers include questions 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?  How you answer these questions will determine whether you are a "team player" or someone who blames everyone else for your mistakes or over sights.  Here's a typical question:

     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 four 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 is a grand opportunity for you to show how you turned a negative into a positive.  Notice how the respondent took what could have been an "easy way out" and made it something special.  I can assure you that this is someone a principal definitely wants to hire.

 

FANTASTIC FACT:  Ants have nearly 400 odor receptors (four to five times more than any other insect).  Each odor receptor is designated to pick up a different scent.

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It's now the season for interviews.  Make sure you are ready for this all-important event in your professional career.  Be sure to get your copy of Ace Your Teacher Interview (http://amzn.to/2p2D1Xk).