Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make - Part I

     In conducting the research for the book - Ace Your Teacher Interview - I contacted elementary and secondary principals around the United States.  One of the questions I asked them was, 'What are some of the most common mistakes teacher candidates make in their interviews?"  The responses I received were quite revealing; but even more amazing was the fact that these mistakes keep showing up in interview after interview, and year after year.  Here are some of the most common ones (the ones that tend to have a most negative impact on any interviewer and the ones that will - most certainly - doom your chances of getting a teaching position).
1.  Answering your cell phone during the interview ("Hey, hold on a minute, it's my boyfriend!")
2.  Being late to the interview ("Your secretary gave me lousy directions!")
3.  Making a bad impression in the waiting area ("Mind if I smoke?")
4.  Poor social skills
5.  Presenting a poor appearance ("Would you like to see my really cool dragon tattoo?")
6.  Unable to maintain eye contact
7.  Offering a limp or overly firm handshake
8.  Lacking confidence ("No, I don't think I would want to try that.")
9.  Poor communication of ideas
10. Poor grammar ("Hey dude, it's like, you know, it's like, what teachers do.")
11. Inarticulate
12. Talking too much
13. Arguing with the interviewer ("You can't be serious?  I can't believe you said that!")
14. Giving canned answers
15. A much too relaxed attitude
16. Providing unfocused responses ("You know, teaching is just an awesome job!")
17. Giving defensive or aggressive answers
18. Arrogance ("Hey, I got my degree from High Intelligence College - now I know it all!")
19. Having no questions for the interviewer
20. Having a negative attitude ("What a lousy season - yeah, your football team really sucks!")
21. Giving short, vague, or incomplete answers
22. Being unprepared ("Can I send you my resume sometime next week?")

As you look over these typical and common "boo-boo's" you will note that they all have one thing in common - they can all be controlled by you!  That's right - each of these interview mistakes is under your control, your supervision, and your influence.
     We'll take a look at an additional 21 interview mistakes as reported by building principals.  That list will be in the next blog.  Stay tuned!

What are the Broad Responsibilities of a Classroom Teacher?

     Q:   What would you say are the broad responsibilities of a classroom teacher?

     A:   A classroom teacher has to be many things, have multiple skills, and often be in two places at the same time.  From my student teaching experience I know that teachers have to be good classroom managers and have a consistent and fair classroom discipline policy.  They must also be up to date on assessment and evaluation protocols and how to effectively integrate those into the overall curriculum.  They must know how to motivate students, particularly reluctant learners, and develop relationships with a wide range of individuals – administrators, parents, and other teachers.  They need to be able to respond to the individual needs of every student in a classroom and be able to plan their time in an efficient manner.  There’s no doubt that teachers have to wear many hats and have many talents.  I believe I can bring that array of skills to the Physics position here at Lost Creek High School.

            You should plan on being asked this question in one form or another.  It’s designed to see if you have a realistic picture of the teaching profession or whether you have a “glamorized” view (e.g. “Well, I think teachers should be really nice people and should help all students.”).  The question should be answered with specific details and knowledge about the multiple tasks and duties teachers face every day.  The interviewer wants to know that you have not unfairly “romanticed” teaching, but are keenly aware of the day-to-day responsibilities of teachers.

What is the Purpose of Assessment?

     Q:  What is the purpose of assessment?

     A:   Good assessment is multi-disciplinary and multi-faceted.  It should be designed to address four major concerns of every teacher.  One, it should provide meaningful feedback; that is to say, are students learning what I’m teaching?  Two, it should be used to effectively measure instruction; in other words, is the instruction tailored to the individual needs of students.  Three, assessment is used to assess and evaluate progress – are students progressing in a satisfactory manner.  And, four, assessment must inform instruction.  That is to say, it must be used to help develop appropriate activities that will ensure student success throughout a course or topic.  In adhering to these four basic concepts of assessment, I use tools such as projects, demonstrations, portfolios, rubrics, and writing samples to help me effectively gauge each student’s progress and performance in a lesson.

            Count on it!  You will be asked a question about assessment and its value in a lesson or unit.  Prepare yourself well for this query because it will come up in one form or another.  Review those notes you took a few semesters ago or get a copy of that old textbook on assessment and evaluation.  Know that this is a critical question and one that every good teacher – both elementary and secondary - should be prepared to answer.  Count on it!

Hypothetical and Situational Questions

          It seems reasonable to expect that you will get one or more situational or hypothetical questions during the course of an interview.  It’s important to remember that there are no absolutely perfect answers to these questions – there are differences of opinion, different philosophies, and different strategies used depending on experience and background.  In short, no two people will necessarily give the same answer to these queries.  What is more important is that, quite often, these kinds of questions are asked to gauge three things:

1. Your problem-solving abilities.  Every day teachers are faced with situations and events for which there are no easy answers and for which they may not have received training.  A student has an epileptic seizure in your classroom, a parent walks into your classroom swearing at you about his child’s report card, a student steals money from your purse – are all events that will test your problem-solving abilities…and your patience.  If you can solve problems quickly in an often stressful interview situation, then it is likely you will be able to solve them in a real-life classroom situation.
2. Your poise.  Do you get flustered when presented with a new situation?  Can you handle unexpected stress?  Do certain events raise your anxiety level?  Interviewers want to know how composed and how rational you will be in the often hectic and chaotic world of classroom teaching.  Can you maintain a calm, cool, and collected demeanor or will you “fly off the handle” at the slightest disruption to your classroom schedule or curriculum?
3. Your general views about sound educational practices.  Are you aware of some of the common ways of handling discipline or maintaining classroom order?  Do you know some of the “Best Practices” that differentiate the average teacher from the superior teacher?  Are you comfortable with the principles and practices of child or adolescent psychology and their application in a classroom environment?  While you may not be able to provide a perfect answer to a situational event (if there is such a thing as a perfect answer), you should, at least, be comfortable with current research, practices, and principles regarding human nature and child development to formulate an appropriate response.

Common Sense

      As I gather my research and write my book - Ace Your Teacher Interview - several people have told me, "You know, what you're writing is just plain common sense!"  And, they're right - it is common sense.  But, I'm also discovering that most of this "common sense" has never been gathered together into one source, one resource book, one all-inclusive reference guide.  I'm also learning from principals and administrators around the country that, in spite of all that common sense, prospective teachers are still making mistakes - big mistakes and little mistakes - mistakes sufficient to derail their chances at gaining employment.
     All of that was brought home recently when I interviewed an elementary principal.  I asked her if she had any memorable interview anecdotes.  She told me the following story:

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK:      “There was one interview I’ll never forget.  A few years ago a young man – I’ll call him Jason - came into my office for his initial interview.  We exchanged a few pleasantries and then I asked him the first question: ‘Tell me a little about yourself.’  He paused for a few seconds and then reached into his briefcase and pulled out an elaborate hand puppet.  He slipped the puppet over his right hand and it was the hand puppet who ‘answered’ the question.  Using a falsetto voice, Jason manipulated the hand puppet – whom he had named ‘Bob’ - and had ‘Bob’ respond directly to me.  Slightly taken aback (I’d never had a puppet talk to me before), I decided to proceed.  So, I asked Jason to tell me why he wanted to be a teacher.  Again, it was ‘Bob’ who answered: “Well Jason wants to be a teacher because he really likes kids and he knows how to get their attention and he also….’  I was still a little stunned – and a little more than amazed - but decided to continue.  I asked about two or three additional questions and each time ‘Bob’ – in a very animated fashion - told me something about Jason.  Finally, after about ten minutes I could take it no longer.  I found a diplomatic way to end the interview, I escorted Jason (and ‘Bob’) back into the outer office, rolled my eyes at my secretary, and went back into my office to try and recover in time for the next interview.  To this day I still have nightmares about that damn puppet.”

     Here's wishing you lots of common sense.