Today I had an interview for a rare full-time teaching position at one of the colleges where I work. I don't believe I will get a second interview. When you're a seasoned pro in the classroom, you can sense a connection with your interviewers. The connection left the classroom like a draft seeping through a windowsill.
If I were ballsy, I'd rant about the screwy hiring processes at colleges, but I need to eat and pay bills, so I must keep my knowledge and opinions to myself.
Instead, I'm going to talk about the stress-inducing teaching demonstration. These range from 8-20 minutes. The interviewers are your students. Today I taught magic realism to my "students," and they remained silent, fearfully unengaged. I had been so certain they would have really valued this unique approach to Aimee Bender's "The Rememberer."
Silence.
I strove for an original perspective, to stamp the teaching of this story with my take on it, unlike no other applicant.
A few voices.
Why aren't I proud of my originality in the demo? Why do I suddenly crave to teach the story in the same way as another applicant?
