The interview

The interview was 75 minutes of interrogation. It really was. I was drilled about my first lesson, why I chose it, what some of the things were, and why I chose thinking maps(think Venn Diagrams from back in the day with a way cooler name... note the sarcasm) to help explain a concept. I defended all of my answers, and had appropriate answers that were very convincing I thought. I wasn't disrespectful. I was honest. I could have omitted that from my lesson- it may or may not have been more successful, but I included it to help the students organize their thoughts. I may not necessarily use thinking maps, but so many English language learners need supports and ways to group information to help them recall- that's what I provided. The program I was working for targets English language learners. I just realized they have their own agenda, and I don't necessarily fit into it. That's ok. I gave it my best, did my best based on what I knew.

I was given the opportunity to present my 2nd lesson plan, a vocabulary lesson with a fun activity to help the kids remember the words. I chose a list of the top 50 SAT words, had the interviewers write down the word and definition on a white sheet of paper, and memorize the word. Then they had to present the word to the class. After to help reinforce memorization I had the kids pass their vocabulary word to another student, and they had to take notes on it. They had a minute to write down every member in the classes word, then pass it to the left, and I sang "to the left, to the left" when they had to pass, and they would pass the vocabulary word in their possession to the left. I think it went very well also, and the 3 people interviewing broke out into laughter many times during it. Maybe I redeemed myself? It definitely had the fun element I think the interviewers were looking for.