Tuesday, February 5, 2008

TFA interviews

Well, I lived through it. My dad went with me, which was good because otherwise I'd probably still be lost in Dallas. Yesterday we spent three hours being lost (on top of the 5+ hours it took to get to Dallas) while searching for the hotel where I'd made a reservation. I got a little under five hours of sleep last night. My lesson revolved around an electrostatics demonstration, and it was raining cats and dogs. Oh, and the hairdryer I brought to dry my supplies started malfunctioning while I was practicing at five a.m. The switch somehow broke, and it no longer turns off. That was ok, but I was worried something would jiggle loose and then it would no longer work at all. I was panicky, and my five minute lesson probably wasn't smooth and effective. I also had pretty much nothing to say on the essays they had us write.

My mother is very determined to lecture us on how we could have avoided getting lost if we weren't such screw ups. We keep foiling her by explaining that, yes, we got google directions online before we left, yes, we tried calling the motel to ask for help (twice, and they said they didn't know how to help us), yes, we stopped to ask for directions, yes, we had the road atlas out (the whole time). I told her I got very little sleep as a result of being lost and to please stop trying to tell us what we did wrong and was ordered to mellow out. I'm tired and grouchy. Sorry for the random venting.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

As long as you were yourself, you should have done quite well. In my experience (a bunch of employment and a ton of education fellowship interviews), they look for what sets you apart.

Anybody can go through and spit out a bunch of educational jargon / theory but being yourself is the most effective tool you have in teaching teenagers. They'll see right through any facade.

Between that and knowing your content, you survive.

SJean said...

Sorry you got lost! I got a GPS for christmas, and without it, I'd be lost 75% of the time in my new city.

I'm sure you did fine, though I know it must have been quite stressful. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!