Teacher Interview Tips & Questions

Hi everyone! It's been a long school year that has almost come to an end. I had a tough group this year and a lot of change for my family. My husband just retired from the Marine Corps after 17 years of service. It's crazy to think we'll no longer be a military family.

This means our time in Hawaii is now coming to an end. Hawaii has been an amazing experience for us. We've had wonderful times here that my kids will always remember and for that I'm grateful. The last day of school for us is June 3rd, and we will fly out on June 8th.

We're returning to FL to finally settle down and stay in one spot for as long as we want. I am so excited to be settled down and have permanent ties to a community. But this upcoming move meant I was back on the job hunt. My old school district held a job fair, so I submitted an application and bought a plane ticket ASAP!

My sweet friend, Nicole from Teaching With Style, was also looking to change schools and gave me some great resume tips! You should check out her post {here}. 

Being that we're military, I've done a good bit of interviewing, and I've tried to compile all the interview questions into one document. Sometimes, interviewers really throw some interesting questions at you that make you think. It's always a good idea to try and think ahead of some things that you might be asked so you're not caught off guard. 

Here is a list of all the interview questions (that I could remember from previous interviews over the last few years) that I experienced. Click on the picture below to download your copy.

*Some of these questions do pertain to special ed (ESE) positions. Not all of them, but there are some.

Here are some tips from my interview process that might help you:

*Dress so you feel professional but confident! Be careful of your shoes though! I wore these awesome new shoes just for the job fair. I was so amped that I didn't realize they were killing my feet until it was over. When I got home, I had 5 blisters on my feet and they were a hot mess. I saw many ladies wearing extremely high heels. They had to be dying by the time they got home!

*When answering questions, speak from experience. This can be tricky when you're fresh out of college but try to think about your student teaching experiences. During these interviews, I really felt like I was just having a conversation about my teaching and classroom. That really helped me to feel less stressed since I talk about teaching stuff all the time with friends and colleagues.

*Remember you're trying to decide if this school is a good fit for you, too. It's not just about whether the school wants you but whether YOU want the school, also. Do you feel like the school is a good fit for you and your teaching style? Did you get an impression about the culture of the school? Not every school is good for every teacher.

*Research the schools online. My old school district has each school's School Accountability Report and School Wide Behavior Management Plan online. This was a great way to find out what's important to each individual school.

*Research the curriculum used by the school you are interested in. Many (not all) of the interviews I have experienced asked about specific curriculum that school uses. 

I'm happy to say that next year I will be returning to my old school in FL as a 1st grade teacher! I've  never taught gen ed before, but I am so excited about this new experience. I can't wait to have my own classroom of students that belong to me!

We still have a big summer ahead of us with this move, but I'm excited to share about my new classroom with you all.

My Truth Monday - Becoming a Teacher

I'm joining up with Sunny Days in Second Grade for her My Truth Monday series.  

Today's post is all about how I became a teacher.

Although this job is more demanding than I expected, I have to say I do feel like this is the right job for me.  When I left the Marine Corps, I was lost for a little bit.  Being a Marine isn't just about doing a job.  It's a way of life and there's so much tradition and camaraderie that goes into being a Marine.  Through teaching and blogging, I was able to find others that were just as passionate and invested into something.

How did you end up teaching?

Hard Decisions

I've been debating on whether or not I should make this post and discuss something so personal.  Since the beginning of the school year, I've had to make some tough decisions about what was best for my family and my career.  It seems like this is a year where a lot of teachers are struggling.  The demands seem to be increasing while the support and resources are decreasing.  I read a blog post yesterday from a sweet blogger {here} that touched my heart and encouraged me to tell you guys my story.

Many of you know my husband is a Marine, and we recently moved to Hawaii.  Being a Marine wife means we move pretty frequently.  It's part of the job description, but it can be super discouraging when I think about how it impacts my career.  Since we're moving so often, I can never reach tenure (if that's even available anymore) or have seniority.  I'm constantly starting over.  Just when I've hit my groove somewhere and made friends, we up and move again.

When we moved here last December, I did everything I could to find a job and find a job quick!  We landed here on Dec. 12th and on Dec. 26th I was offered a job that I accepted.  Unfortunately, there was a lot I didn't know about the school systems here in Hawaii.  I had said I would be willing to commute, but I didn't realize you have no transfer rights until you get tenure (at that time it took 4 semesters and 1 day to get tenure).  I wish I had known I was committing to commuting for 2 full years, because that would have been a huge factor in my decision.

Nevertheless, I accepted the job and gave it my best effort.  The situation wasn't ideal.  Picture a hoarders classroom with 2 teachers, 2 paras, and a Title 1 coordinator who had an office that took up about 1/4 of the classroom.   Take this picture and imagine it for an ENTIRE classroom.

That's what I walked into, and it was awful.  The clutter made my anxiety skyrocket and that was just by walking into the door. 

By the end of the school year, my husband and I spent hours and hours talking about whether I should resign.  However, resigning in Hawaii would mean I would have to do the ENTIRE hiring process over.  I would have had to resubmit all of my transcripts, references, licenses, etc. and go through the DOE initial interview over again.  Then they would release my name back out to the principals, and I'd hope for the best.  In Hawaii, you can't just apply to a school and no job openings are listed online.  

After a lot of discussion, thought, and pro/con lists, I made the decision to go back to my school for this school year.  I spent all summer stressing about it.  I was able to move into my own classroom, and I was hoping that would make a world of difference.

Being in my own room was helpful, but there were a lot of other issues.  My case load was pretty intense with some very high needs students.  There were a couple of students who were physically aggressive, and I felt like I was getting beat up everyday.

I felt like I was getting beat up, because I was.  There was hitting, kicking, spitting, and biting like this bite up above.  It was mentally draining and exhausting.  My admin provided support and were aware of what was going on with the high needs students.  They were present and did a great job of giving me aides to help.  More bodies in the room didn't fix the problem though.  Maybe another teacher could have done better than me, but I honestly feel like the real issue was whether some of the students were in the right placement.

However, I can say it wasn't enough for me.  All of my energy, (physically, emotionally, and mentally) was being sucked out of me everyday.  On Friday evenings, I was dreading going back to work on Monday.  I wasn't able to be here for my own kids and be a good mom to them due to everything I was dealing with at work.  My marriage was suffering, too.

Since my husband is a Marine, he has a lot of expectations for his job (deployments, training, overnight duties, long hours, etc.).  With my commute and long hours, he was picking up a lot of slack with the kids.  Honestly, my job was keeping him from being the best Marine he can be.  And that's just not right.  Not that my job isn't important, but in the scheme of our family, his job is the most important.  

My husband and I had a long talk and realized that I just couldn't do it anymore.  He needs to be able to  fulfill all of his job responsibilities without my job interfering.  I need to be present and available for my own kids.  I need to take of me, too.  In the spirit of honesty, I'll say that the situation in that classroom was not allowing me to be the best teacher I can be.  I have never wanted to be THAT teacher.  The teacher who doesn't enjoy her students.  The teacher who hates going to work.  The teacher who feels like she accomplishes nothing.  But I was feeling like THAT teacher.

I ended up taking a leave of absence for the rest of the year.  Ultimately, it was just impossible to take care of my family and work in that school.  My husband could no longer take the kids to school, pick them up from school, do their homework, pick them up when they were sick, etc., etc. due to his job.  But more importantly, I couldn't emotionally or mentally do it anymore.  

During all of our decision making, I read this awesome article {here} that really made an impression on me.  One of the quotes states, 

"A teacher who thrives in one particular situation might not thrive in another. Teachers are most successful and happy when they work in the subject, school, context, and communities that best fit them."

I wasn't thriving this year and no way could my students thrive in that situation.  I wasn't sure whether I should post this or not.  But I wanted other teachers in these same shoes to know, it's ok to put yourself and your family first.  As a teacher, it's my nature to give everything I have to my students.  Being a perfectionist doesn't help either.  It was incredibly hard for me to say that this isn't working and I have to put my family first.  It was also nice to know that others had made the same decision.  You can read another teacher's story {here}. 

Looking back, I know without a shadow of a doubt that this was the right decision.  My family is back on track.  My husband doesn't want to divorce me anymore.  ;)  My kids are happy.  And even better, I just started a part-time intervention teaching position for 3rd graders!  I'm still able to teach, but it's in a way that's feasible for my family.

For those teachers that are struggling, my heart goes out to you.  I know I'm fortunate, because I was able to take a leave of absence and many other do not have that option.  I hope those of you that are struggling are able to find a support system for you.  Maybe that support system isn't going to be in your school, but I hope you have one.  Know that you are a good teacher.  Maybe this isn't the best teaching situation for you at this exact moment, but it doesn't define you.  

Teacher Interview Questions

Hi, everyone!  I had the first required interview with the Department of Education on Monday.  I was so nervous!  I'm glad that part is over and that I passed the interview.  Now I wait to see if any principals out there might want to interview me.

In the meantime, I thought I would share with you guys some of the questions I was asked during the interview.  It's so hard to put yourself out there and try to sale yourself.  I can't remember them all (there were over 20!) and these are paraphrased, but it might help some other people looking for teaching jobs.

Interview with Department of Education:

*What can you bring to a school besides teaching (i.e. coaching, drama, art, singing)?

*You see a student is cheating during a test.  What do you do?

*You are teaching a new class.  What do you need to know before you begin lesson planning?

*A bright student is refusing to do any work for you.  What do you do?

*A student asks why they have to learn this stuff anyway.  What do you do?

*A parent wants to talk to you about all the great things her student can do.  The student is only average academically.  How do you handle the parent?

*Do you think it's important to have a good relationship with parents?  How do you go about having one?

*How do you know what kind of relationship you have with your parents?

*You give your instruction and then assign your students to work independently on an assignment.  You notice a student is sitting by themselves and crying.  What do you do?

*Some people say that it's easy for some teachers to keep their students engaged and not easy for others.  Do you agree with this?

*Some people say that kids today are less motivated to learn than kids from 10-15 years ago.  Do you agree with this?

*A coworker is very needy and needs a lot of time and reassurance from you.  How do you handle this?

*Do you think it's important to have a good relationship with colleagues?  How do you manage this?

*Do you think it's important to tie your instruction into real life situations? How do you this?

Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head!  I was also lucky enough to be on the interview committee at my old school in FL and help interview the applicants who wanted to take over my position since I was leaving.  :(  Here are some of the questions we asked, but I can't remember all of them either.

Interview questions for ESE applicants replacing me:

*Please describe your experiences working with ESE (what FL calls special ed) students.

*What does your behavior management plan look like?

*What interventions would you use for a student struggling in reading?

*How would you monitor and track students' progress for IEP goals/progress reports?

*Have you ever been responsible for scheduling, writing, and coordinating IEPs?

*A gen ed teacher is having a difficult time keeping an ESE student on task.  What would you recommend?

*Describe the major parts of an IEP.

The job hunt is moving along.  I had the opportunity to interview for a special education teacher for grades K-1 on 12-21-12.  Here are some of the questions (again paraphrased) that I remember them asking.  Of course now I'm thinking of a ton of other things I could have said.  

Interview questions for a special ed elementary K-1 position:

*Describe your teaching experience.

*Explain your philosophy on teaching.

*Have you had any experience administering Fountas & Pinnell assessments?

*Have you ever used ______ math curriculum?

*Explain how you would handle behavior management and an unruly student.

*What hobbies do you have or interests that you can bring to our school?

*Have you ever been part of a data student team/study?

*Describe what professional development you have attended.

*Did you have opportunities to collaborate with the other teachers in your school?  How you do you feel about collaborating with others?

*How do you feel about standards based teaching?

*We sometimes have family activities after school.  Will you be able to attend those?

*What are your strengths and weaknesses as a teacher?

*The million dollar question - Why should we hire you for our school?

I've typed these up and put them in a printable document in case anyone would like to print them off.  Click on the picture to download yours.

Hopefully this will help others that are on the job hunt!  Keep your fingers crossed for me that I start getting some interviews at schools here in Hawaii.

And I'll leave you with this beautiful picture I took at a beach on base last week!

Saying Goodbye...

I've been talking about it for about 7 months now, and it's officially happening.  We're about to make the big move to Hawaii in less than 2 weeks.  Yikes!  It's come up quick.  

Last Wednesday, I told my students that I was moving and Friday was my last day with them.  They were sad but talking about Hawaii really helped distract them.  I broke out a globe, so we could look at where Hawaii is and see how far it is from Florida.

We talked about why my family was moving (my husband is a Marine), how we would get there, how all our stuff would get there, and most importantly how my dog would get there.  To give them a visual, I drew this fine piece of artwork on my chalkboard (does anyone else actually still have a chalkboard?).

We spent the last few days learning about Hawaii, islands, and volcanos.  During the big Cyber Monday sale on TPT, I bought this awesome unit from Ginger Snaps.  

I was glad that I was able to distract the students with all the fun talk about Hawaii and volcanos.  Although, I did have to convince them that I would not be killed by a volcano there or get eaten by a shark.  :/ 

My students were very sweet.  My favorite comment came from one of my boys who said he wished I wasn't married and that my husband was his number one enemy now for making me move.  :)

I was super proud of myself for not crying on Friday, but I did get teary-eyed.  The other teachers were super kind to me, and it just broke my heart to leave a school I love.  It really feels like a family there, and I don't know if another school will be this great.

I felt so loved when my students and teacher friends brought me cards, flowers, and gift cards.  I mean how sweet is that?

Here are some of my favorite cards from students.

My husband and I worked all week on emptying my classroom.  This is how I left it on Friday.  I will say standing here in this pretty empty classroom was probably the saddest part for me.  I have LOVED this classroom.  I have spent so many hours in there and really felt like this was my space.  Leaving was really tough.

LOL, I made sure the desks were clean for the new teacher and they're still wet in the picture!

 Now all of my teacher stuff (Oh man, how did I collect all this stuff??) is piled up in the play room waiting on the movers to come on Wednesday.

 Closing this chapter in my life has been emotional, but I know great things await for my family after this move.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there's a classroom waiting for me in Hawaii.  I've already gotten my teaching license issued and the first required interview with the DOE scheduled.

In FL (and some other states), a military spouse can collect unemployment if they have to quit their job due to their spouse's military orders.  I've been trying to convince my husband to let me just collect unemployment and sit on the beaches of Hawaii while he works and the kids go to school every day.  So far, this seems to be unsuccessful.  However, I'm going to keep trying!  ;)

In the meantime, I'm hoping my husband and I can keep our sanity and get us all to Hawaii in one piece!

Interview Tips for Teachers

This week, I had the opportunity to participate on the interview committee for my school.  It was such a great experience and made me think about what I can do to make myself more marketable.  I've mentioned it before but my family is moving to Hawaii at the end of November.  It's very exciting BUT also nerve-wracking to think about having to start all over again and hunt for jobs.  

After we got done interviewing, I thought that many of readers in blog land are probably also looking for teaching jobs and are facing the stress of interview committees.  So here are things that might be helpful to think about and consider when interviewing/applying for teaching jobs. 

1.  Make sure your resume is up-to-date.  It can be easy to tell if you have an out-dated resume.  If you are tailoring your resume to specific schools, such as naming the school you are trying to get hired at in your resume, make sure you are sending the resume to the right school.  Don't say you will be a great fit at ABC Elem School and then send it to XYZ Elem School.

2.  Think carefully about who you ask to submit a reference letter for you.  Will this person write a good reference letter?  If you have teaching experience, did you list your last principal as a reference?  It can be a red flag if you do not have your principal listed or if all of your references are fellow teachers.

3.  Think about the questions you might be asked and possible answers before the interview.  Interviews can make people nervous and anxious.  It helps if you have thought about questions beforehand, so you're not caught off guard.  The next few points are some common questions you might be asked.

a.  What does your behavior management plan look like?

b.  How would you structure your literacy block?

c.  How would you motivate an unmotivated student?

d.  How do you communicate with parents?

e.  How do you incorporate technology in your teaching?

4.  Make eye contact with all the people on your interview committee.  Even if the questions are coming from one person, remember the other people on the committee will probably have input into the hiring decision.

5.  Talk about the standards and experiences you have had in the past teaching, interacting with students, and communicating with parents.  Even if you only have student teaching experience, you have things you can talk about that make it more personal.

This website has a forum for people looking for teaching jobs.  The first link at the top has different posts from all over the country that list the types of questions the poster was asked in their interview.  This can give you a good idea of the different kinds of questions asked and lets you think about how you would answer the questions.  Click here to check it out.

Good luck to all of those searching for jobs!