Would I hire you?

Just wrapped up interviews for a teaching position and thought I would  share some thoughts. I'd also like to get some of your thoughts at the end.  

Those around me give me a hard time on how I interview future teachers. Before I tell you why they give me a hard time let me share our process.

• We create a team which includes the Chair of the Department, Instructional Coach, Assistant Principal (if they are involved in the curriculum area), Associate Principal and myself. On rare occasions our superintendent and maybe our HR director will sit in. 
• We go around the table asking questions like most. We are free to build on another's questions if we feel the need.
• I rely on my team to ask the instructional and knowledge questions. 
• At the end we give the individual a chance to ask us questions.

So here's the part that my team gives me a hard time about. I feel it is my duty to challenge the individual. I want to put them under pressure and see how they think. I want to see how they will handle difficult situations and/or students. Therefore, I role play couple of situations. 

Let me share couple. Understand that the power comes with the role play and I can't really give you a true experience in a blog. 

So I ask them, I'm a student in your class who is passing your test with A's and B's. However, I don't do your homework. Therefore, I assume I'm not passing your class? The standard answer is "yes" or on rare situations "you wouldn't be doing well". At this point I ask what will you do with me and the role play begins. Here are some standard actions:

• They ask, "why don't you want to do the work" ... my response, "It's a waste of my time."
• "Why is it a waste of time?" ... my response, "Why do I need to do it, I pass your test?"
• Usually I start hearing about how important it is to do the work to help me learn which again leads me to say, "Why I pass your test!"
• Then it normally turns to, well in life you need to do things you don't want to. Sometimes we hear this early but normally during all interviews this is statement that comes up. My response is "Why, if I felt it was really important I'd do it!" I might give an example on how I do things outside of school that I don't like to do but because I feel it's important get done. 
• Often I hear "Well if you don't do the work your not going to get the points therefore your going to fail." My response "Then I will fail! Thats the problem with education your to worried about me wasting my time to do homework that serves no purpose - I hate school because of this!"
• At this point we go all kinds of directions but normally it always comes back to "I need to do the homework" and I keep saying, "No I don't because I pass your test!" Bottom line - I continue to challenge them  why do I need to do homework if I'm passing their assessments? I only take them off the hook when I say, "Enough lets change the situation."

The new situation is a failing student who doesn't do any work or pass any test. Again I ask what will you do? Usually I get some standard actions:

• "I'd talk to you" ... my response, "I don't care", "just leave me alone", "I plan on dropping out".
• Usually the individual will say, "what do you like," "what are your plans after high school," etc. Which I say, "I don't care just leave me alone." I might tell them how I plan on working for my uncle who dropped out who owns a tow truck business.
• Then comes, "I'd call your parents" ... my response, "We (parents) understand, his been like that since elementary and we've given up." I might add, "we plan on dropping him out at 16." 
• "I'll talk to my peers" ... my response, "I have the same problem," "I've given up on him," and "good luck with that kid".
• At this point I might get "I'll talk with the principal or counselor"  ... which again I would say, "Oh man, his a pain and I don't know what to do with him either."
• Usually it always gets back to talking to the kid again which I reply, "if you just leave me alone we will be ok but if you keep bugging me there will be a problem." This situation continues to grow until again I say enough.

The blog doesn't allow for me to show you how I use tone and actions to add to the stress of the situations but believe me it does.

Now, I could let you in on what I'm looking for but that wouldn't be any fun. I will tell you I've seen individuals get mad, faces turn red, become speechless and I've even heard they cried after the interview (not my goal). 

I will tell you I've been very lucky and have hired a great number of good educators.  Not all have answered the role play the way I wanted but they show me insight of what I'm looking for. 

So, would I hire you? I would love to see some comments below on how you think you would handle my role play. I might even comment on your comments. 

If you like share what you think the goal is with the questions.

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