Why Should We Hire You?

Inevitably every job interviewer will ask this questions and every interviewee should be prepared with an answer. What can I bring to a job I am truly passionate about? What skills do I possess that will enhance my students lives, my life, and enhance the school's culture ?

I have been answering this question for years now and to be truly honest with you it is one question I enjoy answering because I only apply for jobs I truly want, and when I truly want something I have no problem in verbalizing my value. To be a teacher there are certain requirements one must have, and every person that the administrators talk to will have those base requirements. My value to a school is not in only my education, experience and expertise, but it is (I believe) in my excitement and interest in my subject areas. My enthusiasm for what I teach is evident in my assignments and my lessons. By crafting assignments that I believe to be both educationally sound, and interesting I believe I can bring something into the classroom that other teachers cannot.

Enthusiasm is the key for me in any great interview because it plays such an important role in teaching. Every student has had a teacher that is smart and knows the subject better than anything, but if that teacher cannot translate that knowledge into contagious enthusiasm for her class then the students will struggle to find the value in what they are doing. As school and classrooms begin to shift to a greater online focus I believe it is truly more important than ever to have enthusiastic teachers in the classroom reminding students why an online education can never replace that of a traditional in-class, teacher led experience.

Blog Assignment #8 - Professional Product / Service Review

One of my favorite units to teach in senior English is classic Greek Mythology. Having background information in this subject allows students a greater understanding of classic and modern texts alike. Our society is permeated with classical allusions to gods and myths of all sorts. While my enthusiasm for the subject often helps students get interested in the stories and heroes, I have found very few resources that are accessible to a modern teen audience. For my classes I have been creating most of my own curriculum and activities pieced together from my own training in humanities, the ever helpful Internet, and information in older textbooks. That has all changed now that I have found this book!

Mythology For Teens is an excellent teacher resource for the secondary teacher interested in bringing Greek myth into the classroom. By presenting the information in an easy to understand format, students are quick to get interested and involved with the myths. My students have really enjoyed reading the plays aloud because they are funny, relatable and action packed. Classroom theatre is an excellent way to meet learning outcomes and get students invested in the characters. Tales of heroes like that of Perseus, are the cornerstone of learning heroic archetypes and continue to be a feature in modern film, television and story. One needs to look no further than the recent production of Clash of the Titans to see that mythology can still be presented in a fresh manner. With modern audiences having their interest peaked in mythology, I think that now more than ever teachers that have not previously used Greek myth in the class should consider doing so, and a great way to do that is by using this book.

Blog # 7 Why Professional Writing will be Important to my Job

Writing professionally is an important part of being teacher because a lot of communication with students' parents is done via email, or letter home. A teacher is also responsible for producing her own assignments and in doing such she will model the type of writing she expects to see from her students. Every day teachers need to write on the board, on student assignments and interact professionally with writing. Writing is a reflection of who the teacher is and the time and effort spent into crafting words shows in every written word. Imagine a teacher sending a letter home to parents that is filled with spelling errors and grammatical oversights. It would not be long before the parents would lose faith in that teacher's ability to impart the knowledge of the written word onto their children.

In a world full of text messaging, instant messaging and email the written word has become more important than ever to professionals. More frequently parents are unavailable by phone, but available via email, so teachers must be aware of how the written word reflects upon their professional image. A simple memo could be the difference between a positive or a negative relationship with parents and peers.

Blog Assignment #6 Writing to a professional program

To be posted later

Blog Entry #5 Professional Image

The wardrobe of a teacher has undergone significant changes over the last few decades. Once it was only acceptable for teachers to wear skirts, dresses and pantyhose, now a teacher really is not limited to what she can wear inside the classroom as long as it corresponds to the school's dress code.

Many teachers wear shorts, jeans, t-shirts and even flip-flops on the job. I believe that a person should dress for success in a profession and that teaching is no different. A teacher, especially a new one, does not want to be mistaken for a student in her casual clothing. A teacher needs to command respect and I believe this can be achieved in part through wardrobe. That is not to say that a teacher needs to look like a bank executive, but instead like someone who is approachable. A teacher's wardrobe can also vary widely depending on what she teaches. A Biology teacher likely will not wear the same thing as a P.E teacher because the demands of their classrooms are quite different. When I was in teaching school, my sponsor teacher did not believe that a teacher should wear jeans, or even a jean skirt. I think that both items can be done in a way that suits the job and gives off the right image to parents, students, as well as your teaching peers. The teaching wardrobe is widely debatable and ultimately, a teacher should wear whatever makes her feel ready for the day.

While the teaching wardrobe is widely debatable, a teacher's image really is not. It is important for a teacher to command respect outside of the classroom and in the community. teachers are held to a high standard in Canada and their behavior outside of the classroom is used to directly reflect their activity inside in the classroom. While some people do not believe that private life should affect the professional one, every teacher needs to understand that her pictures on the Internet, her interactions with students past and present, and her behavior in the public directly affect parent's opinions. Parent opinion can really help or hinder a teacher, so it important to realize that maintaining a positive relationship will benefit all involved.

Blog Assignment # 4 - Tools of the Trade

Teaching in the average classroom is currently not a very high tech profession. While most teachers will use chalkboards, whiteboards and handouts on a daily basis, the two most important tools a teacher will use daily are her brain, full of creativity and textbooks.

To teach successfully a teacher will need to use her brain to be creative. One thing that many students do not realize is that the material a teacher covers on a daily basis is primarily created by the classroom teacher. Teachers share lessons and the province sets provincial goals, but the day to day is up to the teacher to lay out. I know that I had never really thought about that aspect of teaching before I got into my PDP program.That means a lot of work before and after school to even be ready to have students in the classroom. This is why a teacher's brain filled with creativity is one of the most important tools needed to teach. Creativity will enable a teacher to create lessons that will hopefully interest the students and help to teach them the lessons and concepts they need to be successful.

Creativity alone will not get the teaching job done. The other very important tool that a teacher will need to use is the course textbook. The course textbook(s) is very valuable in helping a teacher plan the curriculum. without a text, a teacher will have a lot of work to do on her own to set up units and readings for the course. A coursetext book in most public school is something that will rarely be replaced which means that a teacher could using the same textbook for a good portion of their career. This leads back to the fact that teachers need creativity to be successful. Teaching out of the same book for years can get boring and if the teacher is not interested in the material, you can bet the students won't be either.

Teaching utilizes many tools beyond brain power, creativity and textbooks. Teachers will need to master grade software, attendance systems, projectors, televisions and more to be successful in their classrooms.

Blog Assignment # 3 - How to Become a Professional

Becoming a teacher is not something that one can do directly out of high school. Teaching requires a professional degree, certification and membership to the both the provincial union (the BCTF) and a local district union.

Once a person makes the choice to become a teacher, the first thing to be done is to search out a certified professional development program (PDP) at a university. There are two routes into a PDP: one involves getting a Bachelor of Education through a 4 year program, the other is completing a regular four year Bachelor's degree in a program of choice and then completing a one year teaching program. Either way, you will need to know what you want to teach even before applying to the program because teaching high school requires that you have completed a university major in a teachable subject, or teaching elementary will mean that you have completed coursework in all elementary subjects up to a certain university level.

Acceptance into PDP is based on school grades, personal references, volunteer hours and a personal application. Once accepted into PDP, a student can only become a teacher by completing specific coursework, maintaining a good grade point average and successful completion of two in-class teaching practicums. A teaching practicum is when a student teacher goes into an existing classroom over a period of weeks and takes over regular classroom teaching from the classroom teacher. While the students teacher is teaching, the regular classroom teacher and a university PDP instructor watch and critique the student teacher. This process involves constant feedback, reflection, and improvement. At the end of the practicums it is in the hands of the classroom teacher and the PDP instructor to decide whether or not a student teacher is ready adn capable fo having her/his own classroom. It possible to fail practicums and asked to repeat the following year, and is possibelt o be asked to leave the program permanently if perfomance is very unsatisfactory. Controls like this are in place here in Canada to make sure that only qualified and capable people are becoming professional teachers thus maintaining our high quality educational standards.

Here is a link to the PDP requirements at Simon Fraser University: http://http//www.educ.sfu.ca/pdp/admissions/index.html