KB8: I didn't want to discuss my interview results on the thread in which you asked the question. OTOH, I DO think I have some friends here who care about the results and the experience of today.

First off, I had NO clue what the woman thought of me at the interview on Friday. This was a small Roman Catholic school. As much as everything I'd read suggested I wear a conservative navy-colored suit to the interview, it was 105 degrees here in Texas, so I wore a red, sleeveless shift, which came perhaps 2-3 inches above my knees. I wore hose, but sandals. [If there's a job that convince me to wear shoes with closed-in toes, I think they need to pay for foot doctors.]

The interviewer [directress of the Girls' School] wore a LONG dress with a short-sleeved suit-coat over it and black pumps.

When I crossed my leg, her eyes went to my legs. When I talked with my hands [not something I think I do normally], her eyes went to my hands. I've had dogs who've done this, but I've never seen it in a person.

As expected, she asked about my philosophy of education, my philosophy of discipline, etc. I have/had NO idea whether MY philosophies of EITHER corresponded with HERS. She said "Very Good" every time she changed topics of discussion, but some folks just do that because they don't know anything else to say to change a topic.

As it turns out, this was the first interview of 2-3 [the other folks involved are on vacation, so she thought she'd begin.] If I get a call, I get a call. If I don't, I don't.

Today's experience: The public schools in Dallas held a Job Fair today at a high-school. My mind whirred all night, so I wasn't in a mood to get there as the doors opened. As it was, one girl who got there as the doors opened was already #81. By the time I got there at 10:30, many folks had left out of disgust. The first girl was interviewed at 12:30 and I was interviewed at 3:00. It was chaotic, yet I enjoyed many conversations with others in the auditorium.

While my interview of yesterday left me feeling dressed inappropriately, today I looked like the most conservative person in the audience. Everything's relative, eh?

I was accepted for the "Emergency Math" canvas, meaning that I must contact a local University and obtain a document describing my shortages in education classes. These courses in education must be taken within 15 months. In the meantime, however, I may contact the schools on the list who have shortages of math teachers, simply show the form which states that I'm "acceptable", and be hired, or not hired.

I have a list of schools and their needs from the Job Fair. I'll be researching where they are [not to mention anything else I can learn about them] beginning this evening.

If you care further, please use this thread to discuss this item. I didn't want to distract from the threads on other topics.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), July 22, 2000

Answers

>I may contact the schools on the list who have shortages of math teachers, simply show the form which states that I'm "acceptable", and be hired, or not hired.

I figured that you'd start a thread when you got time, Anita. 8-) I was going to email you, but I suspected that you check your hotmail account about as much as I check my yahoo account (never).

My girlfriend suggests that you contact some principals directly; this form thingie may or may not be a big deal with some administrators. I, personally, am amazed that you have to jump through all of those hoops if they need teachers badly.

As for your Catholic school interview: that sounds about right. At one point I also interviewed at a Catholic high school where they needed a computer lab teacher/supervisor. I had on a white shirt and navy blue suit, but I had left my dress shoes in Canada (long story) and ended up wearing black running shoes (Etonics) that belonged to one of my housemates. My interviewer noticed ... I told him that I was recovering from a sprained ankle. He didn't me back, which turned out okay because I got a higher paying gig at the local com college, where jeans and a tee shirt were fine.

Good luck with your search!

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), July 23, 2000.

KB8:

It certainly was an interesting few days. For instance, I never would have realized that I use hand gestures when I talk had those eyes not followed every move. I HATE shoes. I'm barefoot year-round, wearing shoes only to drive and ensure glass/stones don't injure my feet when walking outside. At the office, I'd kick off my shoes as soon as I hit my desk, and spend the rest of the day without them.

Returning from Friday's interview, I stopped at the store. James almost didn't recognize me without my shorts and tee-shirt. When he learned I'd had an interview, he whispered, "Did you get the job?" It's gotten so I rarely mention interviews because folks always ask, "Did you get the job?" It turns out that James has an undergraduate degree from San Francisco and a masters degree from another school in California. I don't know his major, but I had to wonder why he's a clerk in a store.

Saturday's turnout at the job fair was a real surprise. I'd seen the ad for math prospects, but I didn't realize there'd been another ad for general teachers. The auditorium alone had hundreds of people waiting after signing in. I'd asked SO to drive me in my daughter's car to the job fair so that he could get a feel for what may be wrong with it. It's a '93 Honda Civic, and at times it just doesn't do anything when the foot hits the gas pedal. It works fine for quick trips to the store, but on longer trips, it behaves strangely. He became quite familiar with the symptoms, as he'd turn into traffic and find the car moving so slowly that we could have been pushing it, all the time watching traffic approaching, wondering if the car would move before we were hit. Driving was the joke on the way home. I was amazed that he still had a funny bone after spending an entire day reading outside a Dallas High School, waiting for me.

Inside the school, I met folks from all walks of life. The girl behind me was from Canada. Her husband had been transferred to Dallas. She has a Biology degree, but no teaching certificate either. The interviewer sat at a table to the right of the auditorium in the aisle between rows 1 through 6. I sat in row 5, 4th from the right hand side. Several of us could hear the interviews. One woman wanted to teach Home Economics. I heard the interviewer say, "You want to teach Home Economics, but you don't have any classwork in Home Economics." [I expected her to say, "But I'm a good cook."] Behind me and a few seats to my right, a fellow overheard a grossly overweight woman say that she wanted to teach Physical Education. He cracked jokes about that for a good five minutes. The woman to my right was a social worker. She wanted to do ANYTHING but continue in her current occupation. It seems that cutbacks have given her three districts to handle. The woman next to her has been substitute teaching for a year now. She's a business major and wants to teach in charter schools.

The most memorable personality I met at the fair was an older man who carried a big umbrella that he waved around with total abandon, as he used his hands to gesture when he spoke. He'd taught band 30 years ago and thought he'd attend to see if he could again get a position teaching band. He was pretty put out when he learned that computers were used to teach band. [I didn't get into that topic deeper than that.] He also had very strong opinions on black colleges and the Dallas ISD in general. He stated with true conviction that the black folks attending the job fair couldn't pass a 7th grade test. Although a transplant from Missouri, he never asked me to "show him" anything. He was busy telling me of all the people he knew and relating his experiences in life.

I check my hotmail account every few days. It's a PITA in that I must first activate cookies. I WILL be contacting the principals at the various schools, first to find out if they still have an opening, and then to suggest that I'm available for an interview.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), July 23, 2000.

Loved your 4th paragraph (descriptions)! Consider writing a book if you have time. You've certainly run into your share of characters.

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), July 23, 2000.

Loved your 4th paragraph (descriptions)! Consider writing a book if you have time. You've certainly run into some characters.

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), July 23, 2000.

So much for editing my sloppy prose. Maybe I'll go back to college and take a tech writing/editing course.

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), July 23, 2000.

People are fascinating to me. They come in so many sizes, shapes, and flavors. SO is far more gregarious than I when it comes to MEETING people. He just jumps right in and starts a conversation with anyone/everyone. I guess his influence has rubbed off.

I'm glad you mentioned this, however, as I hadn't thought about this in quite a while. Did you ever read Studs Terkel's Working? The book fascinated me. I'd like to reread it. The thoughts and experiences of others have no bounds. There's so much to be learned from folks who have walked in paths we'll NEVER walk.

Studs has written several other books, but I've never read them. I think I'll add them to my reading list. He's somewhat the 20th century equivalent of Margaret Mead [in my mind].

Books by Studs Terkel

Do you think his mother really named him Studs?

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), July 23, 2000.

I must admit that I've only read excerpts from his books, but I purchased a used copy "Hard Times" to read over my next vacation. So many books, so little time!

I did a quick search to see if his mom did give him that name. Unfortunately, I'm out of time for research, but I did find one short interview that was interesting:

http://www.grandtimes.com/studs2.html

link

Back to work....

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), July 23, 2000.