The following is a short excerpt from
Chapter 11 of Ace Your Teacher Interview: 149 Fantastic Answers to Tough Interview
Questions (http://amzn.to/2ltES7R)
by Anthony D. Fredericks
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From time
to time you may be asked an illegal question.
Fortunately, those times are rare, but they do occasionally occur. An illegal question is one that probes into
your personal life, beliefs, or background.
Federal law forbids employers from discriminating against any person on
the basis of sex, age, race, national origin, or religion. Questions that delve into these areas are
both inappropriate as well as illegal.
Most
interviewers are aware of these questions and it is indeed the rare occasion
when you would be asked a question that is not directly related to the
job. However, the interviewer may be new
and not aware of the types of questions that can be asked and those that can’t
be asked. Perhaps he or she is trying to
put you in a stressful situation to see how you would react (or over-react). Or, you may be asked inappropriate questions
out of sheer ignorance. Although these
occasions are uncommon, you need to consider how you might respond if you were
asked an illegal question.In consulting with numerous administrators and professional interviewers, I discovered that there are several schools of thought on this issue. These include the following:
- You
could tell the interviewer that the question is illegal and that you are
not going to answer it. While you
are certainly within your rights to make just such a response, it may have
more negative consequences than you would like. Above all, your response would
undoubtedly make the interviewer uncomfortable and would, most certainly,
give her or him a negative impression of you. In other words, you may be 100 percent
right, but your response would be viewed as 100 percent wrong.
- Another
school of thought says that you should ignore the illegality of the
question and just go ahead and answer it - because you are more interested
in the teaching position than you are in the appropriateness of the
question asked. In other words, you
may decide that the job is much more important than the principle (or
principal).
- You
can simply, respectfully, and politely decline to answer the
question. A response such as, “I’m
somewhat uncomfortable with that question and would prefer not to answer
it at this time” is suggested. The
problem with this response – even though it is very appropriate – is that
it may be seen as defensive and antagonistic – two qualities no principal
wants to deal with. Even though the
interviewer may be downright stupid to ask an illegal question you don’t
want to compound that stupidity by pointing it out to him or her.
- You
could feign ignorance when asked an illegal question. That is, pretend that you aren’t aware
of the illegality of the question and, instead ask for some clarification
or explanation. For example, if you
were asked, “What political party do you belong to?” you might respond as
follows, “I’m not quite sure I understand what you’re getting at. Could you please explain to me how my
political affiliation might be related to my role as a tenth grade math
teacher?” You’ve effectively told
the interviewer that the question was illegal and you’ve also effectively
dealt with a stressful situation.
Some interviewers might see this in a positive way, but others
might take it as a personal “slap in the face.” Unfortunately, you’ll never know ahead
of time.
After talking with many elementary and secondary principals, most of them suggested that the most appropriate course of action is to turn what may be a negative situation into a positive response. Instead of giving a simple response (“I’m Protestant”) elaborate and provide the interviewer with additional information that demonstrates how that particular factor is an asset to your career as a classroom teacher.
Here are a few examples of illegal questions and how you might respond:
A: My husband and I have no immediate plans to have children, but you never know. We both love children and have always gotten a lot of pleasure working as camp counselors and in numerous after-school projects. I love opportunities where I can help youngsters become their best, realize their potential, and grow and learn as members of society. I guess I’m just passionate about children and look forward to the possibility of affecting their lives in as many positive ways as possible.
Q: Where were you born?
A: I was born in northern California. I grew up in the Bay Area and had the pleasure of attending schools that were ethnically diverse, racially mixed, and multicultural. I’ve eaten varied ethnic foods, celebrated interesting holidays, participated in several cultural traditions, and been to any number of religious ceremonies. I believe I can bring that diversity of experiences into my classroom to show children how we can all live together if we just take the time to learn about each other’s customs, traditions, and beliefs. I want to give students the same kinds of experiences I was fortunate enough to have in my early years.
