Nailing that Teaching Job Interview: Common Questions and Answers

Preparing yourself for common teacher interview questions will help you avoid the catastrophic teacher job interview:

"So let me get this straight," asked Barbara Anne, principal at Techmont High and School District interviewer, "you want to become a teacher so you can have fun, fun, fun with literature? It also says on your resume that you enjoy surfin' safaris and being a teacher would allow you to go to the beach every day in your little deuce coupe."

"Yup!"

"So what exactly is your teaching philosophy?"

" Well, I like to dance, dance, dance while reading Romeo and Juliet," answered Mr, Sloop John B, "feel those good vibrations while teaching Greek and Latin Roots, and get around with effective thesis statements."

"So what are your classroom management procedures, Mr. Sloop John B?"

"Be true to your school!"

Sloop John B is still looking for a job, but you'll get one if you follow these teacher job interview tips and prepare for common teacher interview questions:

We've all heard how to ace the job interview tips--dress professionally, show up early, eat a good breakfast, blah, blah, blah. Here are some tips for interviewing to become a teacher:

• Dress professionally. Show up early. Eat a good breakfast. Blah. Blah. Blah.
• Talk to teachers at the school or school district at which you are interviewing.
• Find out which teachers are esteemed and which ones you should not mention in the interview.
• Tactfully remind those filling out your recommendations to have them in on time.
• Find out about the school where you're interviewing. What is the prevailing philosophy? What is the school's nickname? What are some successful programs at the school? Who are some famous alums?
• If possible, tour the school and make a mental note of anything positive?
• Be ready to answer the commonly asked teacher interview questions.

Prepare answers to these questions. Base your answers on information you gathered in the above steps:

1. What is your educational philosophy?
   • Remember those ridiculous classes you took in college that discussed different educational philosophies? Now's your chance to shine. You'll never need to know this information again, but it's valuable at the interview. I strongly recommend your philosophy be the one the school espouses, even if it really isn't. You'll notice early on that schools change their philosophy every other year, so it really doesn't matter. For example, when I started teaching, collaborative learning was the big deal. Two years later, collaborative learning was out. Then project based assessments came along, followed quickly by the need for more testing, followed by the need for differentiation, followed by the effectiveness of collaborative learning. Play their game. Tell them what they want.
2. What is your classroom management philosophy?
   • To answer this question, talk to an experienced teacher who has a reputation for good classroom management. Drop his or her name in the interview as someone you've been consulting on the topic. Make absolutely sure you mention progressive discipline. I repeat. Make absolutely sure you mention progressive discipline. Follow that up with delineating (there's a word you only use at a teacher job interview, by the way) behavioral expectations through clearly posted classroom rules.
3. What are the components of a successful lesson?
   • Yet another excellent name-dropping opportunity. As long as your answer has an opening exercise, an objective, information and instructions, a student activity, and closure, you should be OK. This is not the time to criticize traditional teaching methods. Tell them what they want.
4. Why do you want to become a teacher?
   • The true answer is June, July, and August and being able to retire at 55 with a pension and being able to take a two-week ski vacation at the end of December, but don't say that. Give the interviewer the standard how much you love education and you want to help and make a difference line.