In which we go job hunting part II

This is part II of the story. Click here to go to part I.

The next interview was at none other than Glen Springs – the school I had so desperately wanted a full-time internship. The front staff was so polite and nice while I waited to be called back for the interview and I instantly felt at home. When I was called back to his office, the principal was an elderly gentlemen who I could tell was incredibly intelligent. We had great conversation, not just about the job but about life and the world, and I knew this was where I wanted to work. As the interview was coming to a close he confessed to me that I was one of the last interviews and prior to me coming in he had already made a decision about who to hire. However, I had changed his mind – it was now between me and the other applicant. He then asked how I felt about teaching a science class, as they were likely going to have a science opening. From what I could gather they had a teacher who taught just science and classes rotated in and out. I was honest and told him that I had never thought of science as my forte, but that I had had an amazing professor at UF for my science classes and had learned a lot. After I was finished he was silent for a few seconds, then kind of laughed, and gave me the best compliment of my life – he told me he doubted there was anything I wasn’t good at. The interview was over a few minutes later and I knew I had landed that job. His comment was hands down the nicest thing anyone has ever told me. I spent the next few days waiting for a call that would never come. It was a crushing blow and if I ever wavered in my belief that God had a plan for me, this was it. In hindsight I remember being incredibly sad, but I don’t recall having any doubt. It’s entirely possible I had just blocked it out, though!

I do know I remained positive and continued applying online and I was genuinely happy for my friends who were all getting jobs. Then, two weeks before school started I was called for an interview for a kindergarten position at Hidden Oak. I didn’t have a ton of experience with Hidden Oak, but I had done about twenty hours (spaced out over a spring semester) there for the very first internship I had at UF. It had been in dyads and had actually been a pretty horrible experience. If you’ll recall in the last post I briefly discussed being rear-ended on Valentine’s Day a few days after I broke up with Jon. Well, I was rear-ended leaving a party at the school. I had also decided to break up with him when I was an FCAT proctor there, so I had a lot of memories associated with the school for only having been there for such a short period of time. As I type this, I'm rather relieved I didn't end up working there, as clearly bad things occur at that school. Anyway, the interview started off strong. He only asked me questions relating to reading, so I could tell that was the subject he emphasized. He asked how I would set up the ninety-minute reading block and I told him a mixture of whole group followed by literacy stations and small groups. He seemed interested in the literacy stations and asked me to elaborate what sort of work the kids would do. I continued on with my station ideas and he commented about my lack of experience in kindergarten and asked if I thought the stations would be too advanced or difficult for the kindergarten children. I told him no, that my philosophy is that for better or worse, I believe kids will always meet whatever expectations you set for them. In my case, I opt to set very high expectations and reap the rewards from than as opposed to settling for having average students. He was very polite, but my comment about my expectations really changed the tone of the interview and I figured I wasn’t going to be working there in the next few weeks and I was right.

I was a bit disappointed, but not so much because I wouldn’t be working there and more so because I love teaching so much and had thought this would be my last chance to land a job before school started. To clarify what I mean about not having a job before school starting, it has to do with the fact that a lot of people don’t register their children for school and just show up to either meet the teacher or the first day, so schools often have to hire more teachers to meet their needs after the first few days. So, at this point I had resigned to either not having a job or getting one after school was already in session. I honestly wasn’t sure which one I wanted – all I knew was it was now less than a week before school started.

To be more specific, it was the Wednesday before the Monday that preplanning was set to begin. I remember it vividly – I didn’t have to work, so when I woke up I carried out my daily routine of making breakfast and sitting down to eat at the computer to check the school board website. As I checked, I discovered there was a “primary” opening at Irby, the school from my internship. I was so stoked! I quickly finished my breakfast and immediately started getting ready to drop off my resume – I even typed a cover letter specifically targeted at the principal: Lina Burklew. I then got dressed and tried to look my absolutely best. I knew it was unlikely I would actually see the principle, but on the off-chance I did see her I wanted to look good. On the drive over I glanced down at the cover letter and realized I had misspelled her first name – I had absentmindedly wrote Lena, which happens to be the name of one of my good friends. This obviously put a damper on my mood, as I was already half way to the school and didn’t know what to do. I luckily had the idea to call the family of one of the kids in the class I interned under. I had developed a great rapport with them and had actually babysat quite a few times. So, I called the mom and she was home, thus providing me with a place to swing by and fix my mistake. She was so excited to hear I was applying and I again fell victim to the pack mentality and got super excited myself. So, by the time I arrived at the school, I was feeling very good. I had always really liked Jane, the woman who works in the front office, and it boasted my confidence when she remembered me.

After I talked to her, I walked down to the room I interned in. Although school technically hadn’t started, I was correct in my assumption the teacher I interned under, Lisi, would be working. I talked to her for a while and she was also excited I was applying. I left the school feeling really good even though I had yet to even have so much as an interview.

In anticipation of the interview I hoped would be coming my way, I took my phone to work with me for the next few days. I put it on vibrate and left it in my apron. After a few days I finally felt it going off at a time I happened to not be busy, so I snuck into the bathroom to answer and it was Jane calling to set up an interview. I was so excited! She asked if I could make it that day at 2 and I said yes, knowing full well I would actually still be at work. I went and talked to my manager and I was first cut. I didn’t have time to roll my silverware, but I promised to come back after the interview to roll it. When I was cut I hurried home, got ready, and made it to the interview early.

The interview went really well. I was completely sure of myself and gave answers to the best of my ability. She then told me that I had a great resume and my letters of recommendation were all superb, and if it was a first grade position, the hiring would be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, it was for kindergarten and I had never had any experience with kindergarten. The reason it had been listed on the website as primary was due to the numbers – prior to my showing up they were unsure if it was going to be a kindergarten or first grade position; however, with the latest numbers coming in they had decided the opening was definitely going to be for K. On one hand it was a huge compliment because I had no doubt she was honest that if it was a first grade position she would be hiring me, but at the same time it was a huge disappointment that there was a chance I wouldn’t get the job merely because in all my experience, UF had never placed me in kindergarten. After I interviewed with her she had me go down to the kindergarten quad and meet the team leader, Ms. Miller. She was very friendly and quite thorough when going over the curriculum to the point where I felt a little overwhelmed. She let it slip I was the third candidate for the job she had met, so that rained on my parade a little bit. Before I left Mrs. Burklew let me know that the district requires a job to be on the website for an entire week before they are able to offer it to anyone, so I would know something the following Wednesday. On the way home I did indeed stop by the Biscuit to polish and roll all my silverware.

I waited patiently and got the call Wednesday around 4 offering me the kindergarten position at Irby. I was so excited! I was to report to Kirby Smith the next morning for a full day of training. As I hung up, it hit me that Wednesday was basically over and my next few days were going to be full of setting up an entire classroom from scratch, district training, drug tests, and then culminate with meet the teacher at 1 on Friday. I felt completely overwhelmed. Luckily for me Lisi and another teacher, Ms. Patterson, rushed to my help. They spent two very late nights essentially setting up my room for me. I had no idea how I would have put together the room on my own. My 10:00PM Thursday I realized that I had everything I had ever wanted – my own classroom at the best school in the world.