Stand Out in Your Teacher Interview | Kathleen Jasper | NavaED

Hi, I'm Kathleen Jasper and I'm here to help you with

your

teacher

interview

. Many of you have no experience and are going out and getting jobs in schools and need help with the

interview

and I am here to do it. I have some steps and some strategies that will help you with the interview process. Let's get started. Well, there are a few things you can do at

your

interview with the

teacher

so that everything goes smoothly and goes very well. I've interviewed. a lot of teachers for the district I worked in and I hired teachers for my company nava education so I went through a lot of different interviews and the school principals right now are going through a lot of interviews that they are working on. tons of candidates all the time and there are some things I like to see in a candidate.

If you do them in your interview, it will help the director feel that you would be a good addition to the faculty, so the first thing you should do in your interview you will want to focus on being positive. Have a positive attitude leading up to the interview. Think of all the good things school has to offer. Remember that this is an opportunity for you, but it is also an opportunity for others. school, you know you have something to offer this organization, you know that, so think about it in a way that you have the opportunity to take your skills and talents and share them with an organization and with the students to help the organization improve, that's really the objective. or the objective, so get it in your brain from the beginning, you know, when you're driving up to the interviewer, when you're preparing for the interview, you know people tend to be nervous and they tend to think, oh my God, I'm being interviewed. by this person and it can let you know that being positive it's hard to get all that out of your mind and think of this as an opportunity and a way to share your skills and talents to help people if you take off what you know. anxiety-inducing negative scenario and you put this other scenario in its place, it will help you relax, it will help you feel better when you go into the interview and you will come out calm and happy and positive, and that's definitely something.

We want to think about something else you should think about before you go to the interview: look up the demographics and some facts about the school. Be prepared to meet the community the school serves and all the principals they are very proud of. their schools and are very proud of the communities in which their schools are located most of the time. If you talk to a principal about their school, they can talk for hours and hours about what's going on and the different clubs and the different things. Let them do it, find some things about school that are really important, you know, maybe they have a really awesome band or maybe their cheer team went to the championship or maybe their football team is doing really well if His soccer team is not doing well. don't mention the football team, nothing bothers a principal more than having to deal with comments in the community about a bad football team, but maybe you know that the baseball team said something like that about good things that happened in school and then another thing you want to look for is demographics and maybe you know something different.

I wouldn't say scores. You know you can certainly look at scores and things like that, but look at the community that the school serves and find out what the demographics are. are and then always consider that as an opportunity, so let's say the principal says to you, well, we have a diverse population here at Tree Line High School and we know that we serve a diverse community here, so you could say yes, I know that. . I looked up and saw that 50 of your students are Hispanic. What an opportunity to work with that community. You know, make the school an even better place.

Simply turn it into information you know to show that you did your homework. you know what the school is about and what they're going on and the other thing is that you see diversity as an asset, not a challenge, so a lot of people might say something like this, well, I saw that you serve a population Really diverse, you know? that must be it that must be difficult no that's talking about deficit just say no to talking about deficit what should you say and think instead don't just say this you should think this as an educator wow sir 50 you know 50 of your students are Hispanic, you serve, you know this community and I am very excited to serve this community alongside you or I am very excited for the opportunity to learn from these students and interact with my students who are from different cultures, which makes it spin in a way positive and It's not just about thinking that you should do that and think about education that way and with that you know that you will surely reap dividends in your interview process.

The other thing you should do, especially if you don't have that much experience in teaching, is one of the things that makes people you know scared about an interview is that they don't know anything about teaching. Well, you can be perfectly honest about it from the beginning. You can say I've never taught before. You know it, but you're excited to learn it all. Of the things you know about differentiated instruction and are excited to learn about content area reading, do you remember all those videos I make about content area reading differentiated instruction high expectations for all students

stand

ards the line plan studies, I mean If you've been on this YouTube channel, you know that I have videos for everything when it comes to classroom instruction, it turns out that they are applicable for the exam, well, guess what they are applicable here in this scenario, so you're You'll want to take all those good things you learn from studying for exams and bring them to the interview, not in a way that's fake and you're trying too hard, but let's say the principal asks you something you don't know, maybe be something like how would you differentiate instruction for this student who has this?

You can say something like I have little experience in that area, but I hope to learn about that process and differentiated instruction. I know that every student can meet high expectations and I would work to achieve that and work with my team and other experienced educators to help me serve that student to the best of my ability. Note that I didn't try to insert some knowledge that I don't have. I'm sure I don't know, but I know where to go. My team. My PLC. My administrator. Or you know my professional development. I'm looking forward to participating in professional development to learn more about that.

This shows that you may not have the experience. but you have the drive to learn about this very important piece, so that's very good. The other thing you want to think about is and this is the hardest thing for me. It's okay to stop, breathe, and think about your answer, so I'll use. I am not an example. I hate dead air, so I'll speak through dead air. I'll just talk, talk, talk, talk and I always get in trouble. I say too much. I go out, you know, I just spit things out that I should. I'm not saying you know because I'm trying to fill the room with the sound of my own voice.

I admire people when they can stop and take 10 seconds or even 20 seconds and think about a question that I will say. something that had a profound impact on me I was interviewing a band director with my director I was an administrator at the time and I was interviewing the director of this band and we asked him a pretty complicated question about fundraising for the band because that's A big part of high school band you have to raise money, you have to get to events and all that, so we asked him about that and it was a pretty complex question.

He took about 10 seconds and thought about the answer. He breathed, you know, really molded into his brain and I was like wow, you know to me that doesn't show weakness, that shows that you're methodical and you're thinking about the best case scenario. I think that's a very, very good quality now. You shouldn't sit there for a minute or two. You know it should be 10 to 15 seconds, that's a long time. 10 to 15 seconds dead air is a long time, but you can also tell the person, um, just give me a second. thinking about it or just giving me a moment to reflect on it and that shows that you're methodical, so definitely think about taking a couple of seconds if you're stumped on something. um, I could certainly use that advice.

What you want to think about is having a scenario ready in your mind for a certain number of things. Now it doesn't mean I want you to rehearse and it doesn't mean I want you to memorize anything and just regurgitate it. in the interview but I want you to start thinking about things that have helped you realize that you want to be a teacher or even some things that you have learned in your internship or from being a substitute teacher and being able to apply. Those to different situations, so my thing is I always try to think of three different main topics that I might be asked about, so if I'm the principal, I'll probably ask a question about curriculum and instruction, probably something about planning probably something about differentiation, you know, meeting the needs of all students, something along those lines, well, you know from all of our videos that we really need to focus on data-driven decision making, we really need to focus on aligning plans. of lessons with the

stand

ards, the state standards, so all those things that we talk about in the videos and the things that we produce here at navaj.

I want you to implement that in your interview now, you don't have to go overboard, but if you're asked something about planning, like how do you plan instruction or how do you do x, y, and z in terms of planning, you can immediately reference the alignment of standards and you will receive a check next to it because that is what the principal wants to hear the principal wants to hear that you are aligning your instruction with the state standards that the district plan is aligned with that the scope and sequence is aligned with to get things going you might also want to talk a little bit about what you know working on your team or working in plcs collaborating on lessons and stuff like that so remember those good scenarios we talk about in the books and videos and digital courses we have, incorporate them into your interview in an authentic way.

It's not a rehearsed way, but we just talk about those things. You may also be asked about safety because of everything that's going on. I mean, every year we say that because of everything that's going on, it seems like every year is a crazy year for security. Like and schools, you know the safety protocols are very, very intense, so you might be asked something about how to keep students safe and things like that. A good default response is to simply say that I will do my best to follow district and school protocols, whatever they may be.

The director has security measures. I'm going to continue and practice. You know, practicing procedures. Instill in students that procedures are important. Do what you can in your classroom to support. You know any procedures, visions or missions that are happening outside of the classroom. -all over the world, so pay attention that safety is going to be an important thing at that time, and then another thing you may be asked in an interview is how you implement reading and math strategies into the curriculum, so that if you're interviewing a principal who has a very curriculum-focused mindset, you're going to get some questions about the curriculum because it's going to be important for that principle that you understand certain things, so we already talked about aligning the standards. and things like that, but you'll also want to be prepared.

If you are going to be a social studies teacher, you know that I, as a principal, would definitely ask you how to implement content area reading in your classroom and you would do it. I can't believe how many people go, uh, I teach social studies and if I hear that I like it, that person won't be at the top of my list, what I want to hear is a way that you can include informational text. Know what it has to do with your content and have reading strategies ready for that now, it doesn't mean you need to know every reading strategy, but you could say something like and do.

When I say say this, you should also do this in your classroom okay, this is not just for interview purposes, this is like in life, right, I will implement it. You know, informational text because, right, social studies, you're reading newspapers, textbooks, pamphlets, primary documents, things like that. You know I will implement it. content area reading you know that social studies is an opportunity to teach reading, there is that positive language again, an opportunity to teach reading and you know that I will support reading instruction in the classroom, which is music to a principal's ears and music to the ears of a curriculum-minded principal because it means you are now supporting reading in the building.

If you are the reading teacher, you will really have to know your reading and you will probably have moreexperience than someone who comes to teach for the first time. Without having taught before, but supporting reading, no matter what content area you are in, it is always very important, that will allow you to gain important points and don't forget to do it in real life because reading teachers need your support, you know , as science. I taught science I was a science reading teacher It's a great opportunity to read that complex academic text that students struggle with, so that's where you can come do that.

The other thing they may ask you if you are applying for a high school position is that they may ask you about training and sports. and things like that, so definitely check out, take a look at the high school and see what they have to offer, you know if they have a yearbook, which of course they do if they're a high school, but maybe they have a club key or you. I know what kind of organizations they have within the school and I may be prepared to offer something because I know the principal I worked for who ran my high school.

I was the vice principal. He was the director. He always asked what you train. Do you teach? Do you teach music? Can you be the cheerleading coach? Can you be the women's basketball coach? Can you be the key sponsor of the club? Can you be the junior class sponsor um? So be prepared if you go to a high school to be asked. do extra things and in elementary school you know that they will ask you to have so many tasks to accomplish and the principal will definitely ask you what you are willing to do and I always say be open to doing many things, but be honest with your limitations too, for me I could never be the cheerleading coach.

I don't think maybe I could be the cheerleading coach, but I probably wouldn't, but I could coach cross country or I could do a yearbook or something, so, um. that cheerleading is like an animal in itself, it's crazy, it's intense and it takes a lot of work. I take my hat off to the cheerleading coaches because being a high school administrator, you guys put up with a lot, it's a crazy, really intense sport, so anyway that's just why I couldn't teach cheerleaders now anything other than I want you to keep in mind is that you are also interviewing them now I know people say that remember that you are interviewing your interviewer, right, in a way you are, but in this case it is really because you are a teacher and you want to be a better teacher and you want to be in a school that develops you as an educator, you know if you have hopes and dreams of becoming a curriculum specialist and then an assistant principal and principal and a superintendent one day you will want to be associated with the right school, the right principle and the right team, so you'll want to ask some good questions yourself, now you don't want to seem like a snob.

Like oh, do you have this? oh, you gotta that's not what I'm talking about? I'd say ask the director about the induction program, right? The new teacher induction program. So if you were interviewing a teacher and he or she said, "You know I'm new to teaching and I really want to learn everything. You know, I really want to improve or I really want to hone my craft. What kind of teacher induction program do you have here? Do they have support for new teachers? You know, there are development professionals and that's an amazing question and something you should be looking for because you don't want to be in a situation where they leave you in your room and give you the keys. in the textbook and say, "Okay, we'll see you." Later you'll need support, now most schools have support and it'll be there, but you want to ask that question because it's certainly very revealing to ask and it helps the principal understand. that you are here to learn too and being a lifelong learner is part of being a teacher so you will want to ask about the induction program and perhaps your knowledge of plcs or professional development, you don't want to ask a bunch of questions that you know you certainly are not.

I'm going to ask about salary because that's already set in stone and it's at the district level so it doesn't matter, but you want to ask certain questions that you know and again with the questions stay positive, you're asking questions about opportunities, not about things like, well, how many after-hours jobs are we required to do and you know that kind of stuff, whereas you have every right to ask those questions and you sure need to know what your contract is and all that? but this interview with the principal is not the time to do it because everything is done and sewn in the district so you should already understand what is required for you in the contract so just ask questions about the induction program about plcs about opportunities where you know you could contribute to improve the organization.

Remember that the principal cares about the school as a whole, so teachers sometimes don't understand why you are in the classroom with your children and you focus on Depending on their curriculum, there may be 80, 100, or 200 teachers in the building that the principal supports and the assistant principal's team supports, so what you want to do is provide an opportunity for the organization to improve and for you to be part of the team to make things run smoothly, so you want to be a team player, don't say the word team player so much, you know you want to talk about how you like to learn from a team, just saying things like I'm a team player is not necessarily going to mean anything, but if you're Speaking of which, you know I really like working at plc.

I really want to work with a third grade or fifth grade team on this and that, or I can. Don't wait to learn from my mentor. Things like that turn out to be positive and help you look like part of the solution and part of making the organization better and the last and probably one of the most important things because I can't tell you. How many times have I interviewed people and this happens, never ever say anything negative about a former employer. Now I know that for some of you that's a no-brainer and you say, of course, I'm not going to badmouth my other director or my other boss, but it happens almost every time I do an interview, in one day one or two people do this and it's almost like it wasn't even their intention, they ramble on and get down to business and then something negative comes out about it. the former director or the former boss I don't care if your former boss was a tyrant who is being investigated for misconduct that's fine and it's all over the news you don't want to come out negative you don't have to praise anyone You don't even have to talk about That's it, but if they ask you about a previous school or a former principal or how you got along with your former principal or something like that, you should keep a positive attitude.

I learned a lot from that. experience, I am very grateful for the opportunity to have worked for this person or for doctor so-and-so, because if you say something very small that sounds negative, it will set off an alarm in the The director or the deputy director is immediate, we all hear it, so I interviewed teachers and they said you know the principal and we really didn't get along or you know they thought this but you totally know that's not what we should have done. We should have done this and as soon as I hear that I'm like boop, I'm totally turned off and I know that you know even if that's true, even if they were wrong or the principle is wrong, it's so disgusting. an interview, so even if you learned from the principal what not to do or even if you learned from your fellow teacher what not to do, then just say that you are grateful for the opportunity and that you learned a lot because even if you learned what not to do. so you learned a lot, never ever indicate anything negative about a former boss or a former director and always be positive that you know that situation because it can go very wrong in an interview, so I hope that helps you. you go out to your interviews to become a teacher remember always be positive this is an opportunity for you to share your strengths and talents with an organization go in feeling good about what you have to offer you want to have those scenarios ready in mind about differentiated instruction you know critical thinking some protocols security things like that alignment with the standards reading in the content area you know exactly what things you are going to do as a teacher you want to remember those scenarios when they are given to you You know those more difficult questions about the curriculum and things like that, you also want to be open to the possibilities of other things that come with the job, coaching clubs, things like that and then you want to ask good questions about induction programs and maybe professional development. that you can show that you want to learn more if you do these things, I guarantee you that you will leave the interview feeling really good, it doesn't necessarily mean that you will get the job, but you will certainly leave feeling amazing, so thank you very much for Tuning in I hope your interview goes well , let us know in the comments how you get on and how your interview goes.

Have a great day.