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What Should We Say In Job Interviews?
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6 thoughts on “What Should We Say In Job Interviews?”
I agree with Ben on the terms you may want to use, instead of an acronym like TPRS. If you breeze through the admin and get the job, the biggest resistance to what you do may come from the students and parents. If they had a traditional teacher preceding you, they will think they learn by sheltered themes and memorizing vocab lists. If that is the case, make them feel they are still getting that. However, just use those themes/units (e.g. things found in the kitchen) as make-up for the real stuff, the high-frequency words that should take priority via stories and reading. That is just my opinion, based on some recent experience.
Yeah and Diana, what Jim says there is why I don’t stop the Thematic Unit CDs and classjump.com lists at East. I know they have no value, none at all, but the fact is that people still think the old way, so I give my level ones those lists, and everybody thinks que je suis un professeur sérieux. Boy, if parents and kids ever got through to the truth about language acquisition, would they be surprised!
And to think that I just told all of the 8th graders who visited the campus this week, “In German there is no State test, no benchmark, and I am philosophically opposed to giving a lot of homework” – but then I am tenured and getting results. Unfortunately, the security of my job is probably dependent on those things in that order rather than the other way around.
I have found that administrators really like it when their potential teachers sound like they know what they are talking about. I use terms like Dr. Stephen Krashen, i+1, and then I explain what that looks like in a classroom. I talk about positive classroom management, the affective filter… . Research by Alfie Kohn. Etc. When what I say is backed up by research, and I am up-to-date on current research, that’s most of the pitch I need. 🙂
When I talk about my level of fluency, because I studied at university in Chile, well that just makes me look even more qualified.
When I talk about my positive relationship with students, my ability and willingness to accommodate students with different needs, and my belief that every student can succeed and learn a second language… that seals the deal. The rest of it is up to my personality, the needs of the department, etc. I never mention TPRS, per se., but I spend a lot of time explaining my philosophy and approach, and that stuff sounds good to administrators.
But please, PLEASE, don’t forget that you are also interviewing them. You will, after all, have to work in this environment for at least a year. Make sure it is an environment that will be conducive to your teaching. Otherwise, it is miserable. In other words, don’t hide your beliefs and philosophy in order to sound good. Sure, pitch it so it sounds inviting, but don’t try to swish it under the carpet. That makes for more difficulty.
Jennifer said:
“But please, PLEASE, don’t forget that you are also interviewing them.”
That’s a big point. Why would someone moving towards L2 90% of the time want to work for people who don’t want that, who want to use L2 under 20% of the time?
If such bosses have drunk the Kool Aid from their book-based teachers, and nothing is happening in that building in the way of aligning with Krashen, then why would someone want to work in that kind of environment?
My current principal wants change to align with our new CO standards, he understands the deal (this is happening fast across the nation now), and I am confident that I can work towards that end, so we are both facing together in the same direction, even if our entire department is not. I would not want to be at odds with the person I work for about how to teach.
That’s wild. Up here in Canada we also have to be very discreet during job interviews about whether on not we use AIM, depending on the school and school board. Most of the private schools, at least here in Toronto, have adopted it and it is deemed an asset if you have experience and training with AIM. But the Toronto District School Board (public), has vehemently prohibited its teachers from using AIM as a primary resource so you need to do it on-the-sly. An AIM colleague of mine quit her public school job to take a private school position so that she can use AIM freely.
In contrast, the public school board in Ottawa (our national capital) has adopted AIM 100%. Go figure!