I have a job interview tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. at South San Francisco High School. The job search has been disappointing so far--not much is avai
lable, unless of course one teaches math or science. Or Spanish, actually. Or Special Ed. I want to be serious for a second, though, and give some advice to anyone out there considering teaching English:
boogers
No but seriously now for real, it's very helpful to get certified in English and something else, like social studies or a foreign language. Mr. Grijalva always told me that, and I was like "well, but I have an advantage because of my education," but now it's becoming clear that English teaching jobs are harder to find. So give yoursef an advantage and get credentialed in a second subject area (hint: math).
Here's a synopsis of my job hunt so far:
* The most promising prospect I had early on was one of the KIPP schools in SF. I was friends with the principal's sister at Stanford, and Albert also knew the principal, so, needless to say, I knew a lot of people who knew the principal. Anyway, I had a phone interview & then the principal, Molly Wood, invited me to the school. I wasn't too keen on KIPP, but I thought I'd check it out--I was interested in seeing one of the schools after reading about them. Some of the things were a little weird, like the silent signals the students and teachers do--like, to signal "yes" they do this thing that I can best describe as loose jazz hands right next to their ears. And they do it a lot. Like, a teacher will ask an assembly of students, "Are you going to go to COLLEGE??" and the everyone will start shaking their hands next to their head. Also, they refer to each other as "teammates" rather than classmates. And they do this thing called "Do you hear the bells?" which is based on The Polar Express. Okay, so, some things were weird, but the students were mature, and the other teachers seemed dedicated and supportive of each other. Plus Molly would be a great boss. Exactly the kind of environment I wanted. It became my top choice. They brought me back for the final interview stage--teaching a demo lesson--and it tanked. It dragged--it was much too easy for the students and they got bored, and I got bored, etc. So I got a call on Monday that I didn't get the job. It's a shame. I was hoping to get to know Molly Wood better so I could call her Hollywood.
* I found an opening for After School Program Director at a K-8 private school in the Presidio. It sounded fun, helping students with their homework and creative projects and playing sports with them. I fit all of the requirements listed for the job, but I had a feeling they wanted someone older, even though it doesn't say "must have x years of experience." I submitted all my materials, and kept emailing the director of the school just to get any kind of response. After a week and a half of hearing nothing, I finally called the motherfucker yesterday and left him a voicemail. He got back to me in the afternoon, said he did get my materials, and I'd know within a week or so if they'll give me a phone interview. It was nice to finally get a response, but he was being kind of evasive when I pressed him about the job, so I'm not optimistic.
* I've been crop-dusting the area with my resume and cover letters, applying to anything close enough. That's where tomorrow morning's interview comes from. That job is teaching ELD, which I don't think I'm qualified to do--not in the certification sense (although it might be that, too), but in the I-don't-know-how-to-teach-this sense. I might have to be really flexible at this point and teach something out of my comfort range, or go to a less-than-ideal school. I started the job search late.
* I applied for a temping job at Google. It might have to be a backup if I can't get a good teaching job. The job requirements were a Bachelor's degree and a high-speed internet connection. Speaking of Google, I went with Cody to this party thrown by a rich Google guy in Los Gatos on Saturday night, and this party was WILD! I felt like I was in a rap video. Except that everyone was white. And except for me no one was in a bikini (I wasn't really in a bikini).
I don't actually think anyone reading this is considering teaching English, but you never know on the internet. I mean, no one other than my fellow TEPonians, but I think all of you already have jobs, right?
Gnightxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
boogers
No but seriously now for real, it's very helpful to get certified in English and something else, like social studies or a foreign language. Mr. Grijalva always told me that, and I was like "well, but I have an advantage because of my education," but now it's becoming clear that English teaching jobs are harder to find. So give yoursef an advantage and get credentialed in a second subject area (hint: math).
Here's a synopsis of my job hunt so far:
* The most promising prospect I had early on was one of the KIPP schools in SF. I was friends with the principal's sister at Stanford, and Albert also knew the principal, so, needless to say, I knew a lot of people who knew the principal. Anyway, I had a phone interview & then the principal, Molly Wood, invited me to the school. I wasn't too keen on KIPP, but I thought I'd check it out--I was interested in seeing one of the schools after reading about them. Some of the things were a little weird, like the silent signals the students and teachers do--like, to signal "yes" they do this thing that I can best describe as loose jazz hands right next to their ears. And they do it a lot. Like, a teacher will ask an assembly of students, "Are you going to go to COLLEGE??" and the everyone will start shaking their hands next to their head. Also, they refer to each other as "teammates" rather than classmates. And they do this thing called "Do you hear the bells?" which is based on The Polar Express. Okay, so, some things were weird, but the students were mature, and the other teachers seemed dedicated and supportive of each other. Plus Molly would be a great boss. Exactly the kind of environment I wanted. It became my top choice. They brought me back for the final interview stage--teaching a demo lesson--and it tanked. It dragged--it was much too easy for the students and they got bored, and I got bored, etc. So I got a call on Monday that I didn't get the job. It's a shame. I was hoping to get to know Molly Wood better so I could call her Hollywood.
* I found an opening for After School Program Director at a K-8 private school in the Presidio. It sounded fun, helping students with their homework and creative projects and playing sports with them. I fit all of the requirements listed for the job, but I had a feeling they wanted someone older, even though it doesn't say "must have x years of experience." I submitted all my materials, and kept emailing the director of the school just to get any kind of response. After a week and a half of hearing nothing, I finally called the motherfucker yesterday and left him a voicemail. He got back to me in the afternoon, said he did get my materials, and I'd know within a week or so if they'll give me a phone interview. It was nice to finally get a response, but he was being kind of evasive when I pressed him about the job, so I'm not optimistic.
* I've been crop-dusting the area with my resume and cover letters, applying to anything close enough. That's where tomorrow morning's interview comes from. That job is teaching ELD, which I don't think I'm qualified to do--not in the certification sense (although it might be that, too), but in the I-don't-know-how-to-teach-this sense. I might have to be really flexible at this point and teach something out of my comfort range, or go to a less-than-ideal school. I started the job search late.
* I applied for a temping job at Google. It might have to be a backup if I can't get a good teaching job. The job requirements were a Bachelor's degree and a high-speed internet connection. Speaking of Google, I went with Cody to this party thrown by a rich Google guy in Los Gatos on Saturday night, and this party was WILD! I felt like I was in a rap video. Except that everyone was white. And except for me no one was in a bikini (I wasn't really in a bikini).
I don't actually think anyone reading this is considering teaching English, but you never know on the internet. I mean, no one other than my fellow TEPonians, but I think all of you already have jobs, right?
Gnightxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
posted by DB at 1:08 AM
5 Comments:
You did major in a foreign language Dave. Can you get certified English/Italian?
That would be cool. A lot of my students want to learn Italian.
I mean, I could, but take the number of English teaching jobs and multiply it by about .05 and that's how much of a demand there is for Italian teachers.
Hey, Dave, wanna see "Half Nelson" with me when I get back to the Bay Area (and hopefully it comes to California)? Its about a crack-addicted young junior high teacher at some inner city Brooklyn school. Sounds a lot like your life, minus the Brooklyn part. But, seriously, it looks like a really good movie. www.halfnelsonthefilm.com
(I like how its "the film" and not "the movie" I mean, come on.)
Yes! When are you back?
I just wrote one, where are YOU?
And i'm back at the beginning of September.
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