And The Decision Is...
For those who don't know, and don't want to scroll down the page, here's the preface:
I recently applied for a 5th grade teaching job at Dr. Howard Elementary. I spent one day as a substitute teacher in that class, and got to spend a bit of time with one of the other 5th grade teachers. I had also previously subbed at Dr. Howard for two weeks. I really like working in this school. Even when I am working with a kindergarten class, and one of the girls accidentally kicks another girl in the face during a temper tantrum, I like the school! So when the position opened up, I was ridiculously excited about it.
So, I went in for my interview, and I was happy to see that I already knew practically all of the members of the committee. There was only one person I had not seen before, and another that I only knew in passing, but I had had several conversations with the other committee members. The interview had the series of nine basic teacher interview questions (tell us about yourself, why do you want to teach here, what is your management style, talk about balanced literacy, etc). Then they let me ask them a question. (I was like, um.. yeah, I already know all about the school, most of the staff, the class I am trying to get, but sure, I'll ask something about the transition from old teacher to new teacher.)
Before the interview, the principal told me that they were interviewing a few people, and that they were planning on making a decision by that Thursday (the interviews were on a Monday). I asked if I would be called, and she promised that she would personally call, whether or not I was offered the job. I was happy about this. The previous two jobs I'd applied for, I received a letter in the mail. Over a week after the interview. So a phone call the day they decided was way better.
Thursday came. Thursday went. Friday came. Friday went. No call. Saturday. Sunday. Monday. Tuesday. At this point, I was thinking, "Okay, seriously... it has been a week since the interviews. What happened to calling "either way" on Thursday? Tuesday afternoon I got a call from the district's substitute line, telling me I'd been requested to sub at Dr. Howard on Wednesday morning. At this point, I was thinking that the chances of me getting the job were slim to none. But I kept reminding myself that I had been promised a call, so I was still waiting.
Wednesday afternoon, as I was leaving Dr. Howard, the principal was walking by and stopped me.
"Hey, Alex, are you going to be around this afternoon?"
"Um, actually, no, I'm on my way out to do some work for my other job."
"Oh, okay. Will you be available by phone? I'd like to give you a call and talk to you about some things."
"Oh, yeah, sure, no problem!"
"Okay, I'll talk to you later!"
So I went to do some cleaning, got ready for a company meeting, went to the meeting... and in the middle I got a call from the principal. I wasn't going to answer then, so I waited until afterwards, and then called her back.
After thanking me for returning the call, she told me that she had just offered the 5th grade job to another candidate that afternoon. My first thought was, "Wait... today? But you were going to have the new teacher start yesterday! What was the hold up?" Before I could say anything, she let me know that the committee had been debating between the other candidate... and me. For a week. Seriously. Two of the committee members were pulling for me the entire time. They went back and forth every day, trying to decide if they should offer the job to me, a recent college grad whose total professional teaching experience was limited to a semester of student teaching and a month of substituting, or a candidate who had several years of intermediate level teaching. After a week, the experience won by a few points.
Wow. So yeah, I didn't get the job, but holy cow! I almost did. But then comes the kicker: The principal has told me that if another opening comes up, she really hopes I apply for it. She emphasised the point that I did extremely well in the interview, and the only reason they decided on the other candidate was because of the experience.
So I am thinking that, even though I haven't been offered a full-time teaching position at any of the schools yet, things will change sooner than later. And in the meantime, I will continue to work as a substitute in the district, and continue to create a personal network of teachers, administrators, and support staff who know me and know what I am capable of doing.
I recently applied for a 5th grade teaching job at Dr. Howard Elementary. I spent one day as a substitute teacher in that class, and got to spend a bit of time with one of the other 5th grade teachers. I had also previously subbed at Dr. Howard for two weeks. I really like working in this school. Even when I am working with a kindergarten class, and one of the girls accidentally kicks another girl in the face during a temper tantrum, I like the school! So when the position opened up, I was ridiculously excited about it.
So, I went in for my interview, and I was happy to see that I already knew practically all of the members of the committee. There was only one person I had not seen before, and another that I only knew in passing, but I had had several conversations with the other committee members. The interview had the series of nine basic teacher interview questions (tell us about yourself, why do you want to teach here, what is your management style, talk about balanced literacy, etc). Then they let me ask them a question. (I was like, um.. yeah, I already know all about the school, most of the staff, the class I am trying to get, but sure, I'll ask something about the transition from old teacher to new teacher.)
Before the interview, the principal told me that they were interviewing a few people, and that they were planning on making a decision by that Thursday (the interviews were on a Monday). I asked if I would be called, and she promised that she would personally call, whether or not I was offered the job. I was happy about this. The previous two jobs I'd applied for, I received a letter in the mail. Over a week after the interview. So a phone call the day they decided was way better.
Thursday came. Thursday went. Friday came. Friday went. No call. Saturday. Sunday. Monday. Tuesday. At this point, I was thinking, "Okay, seriously... it has been a week since the interviews. What happened to calling "either way" on Thursday? Tuesday afternoon I got a call from the district's substitute line, telling me I'd been requested to sub at Dr. Howard on Wednesday morning. At this point, I was thinking that the chances of me getting the job were slim to none. But I kept reminding myself that I had been promised a call, so I was still waiting.
Wednesday afternoon, as I was leaving Dr. Howard, the principal was walking by and stopped me.
"Hey, Alex, are you going to be around this afternoon?"
"Um, actually, no, I'm on my way out to do some work for my other job."
"Oh, okay. Will you be available by phone? I'd like to give you a call and talk to you about some things."
"Oh, yeah, sure, no problem!"
"Okay, I'll talk to you later!"
So I went to do some cleaning, got ready for a company meeting, went to the meeting... and in the middle I got a call from the principal. I wasn't going to answer then, so I waited until afterwards, and then called her back.
After thanking me for returning the call, she told me that she had just offered the 5th grade job to another candidate that afternoon. My first thought was, "Wait... today? But you were going to have the new teacher start yesterday! What was the hold up?" Before I could say anything, she let me know that the committee had been debating between the other candidate... and me. For a week. Seriously. Two of the committee members were pulling for me the entire time. They went back and forth every day, trying to decide if they should offer the job to me, a recent college grad whose total professional teaching experience was limited to a semester of student teaching and a month of substituting, or a candidate who had several years of intermediate level teaching. After a week, the experience won by a few points.
Wow. So yeah, I didn't get the job, but holy cow! I almost did. But then comes the kicker: The principal has told me that if another opening comes up, she really hopes I apply for it. She emphasised the point that I did extremely well in the interview, and the only reason they decided on the other candidate was because of the experience.
So I am thinking that, even though I haven't been offered a full-time teaching position at any of the schools yet, things will change sooner than later. And in the meantime, I will continue to work as a substitute in the district, and continue to create a personal network of teachers, administrators, and support staff who know me and know what I am capable of doing.
Comments
(from Cars)
Have a great week!
Tabitha