Over the past weekend, there were many interesting topics discussed. Some of these topics include management strategies, the educational blue print, and the master schedule. We also had several guest speakers who gave their own perspectives on administration and education. The learning aspect which stood out most was the interviewing process for becoming an administrator. Adam Tjeerdsma gave his personal insight and perspective of the reason he was not hired for a principal position. The reason he did not receive the position was because of his lack of enthusiasm. Although he was well prepared for interviewing and answered many of the questions "correctly", the school did not feel he had the enthusiasm to lead.
Mr. Tjeerdsma felt he needed to work on displaying his enthusiasm while interviewing. He described himself as a even-keel person. The message was to "play the game". I have mixed feelings about this situation. I do believe it is important to have enthusiasm in a position of leadership; however, it is imperative to be yourself. I think it is important to interview in a manner in which people see the real you. You do not want to be in a position, once you have a job, where you have to constantly pretend to be something you are not. I think it is certainly important to improve in areas in which you are weak, but it is also important to be true to yourself.
I agree with your skepticism about playing the game. As someone who has sat in on interviews in multiple situations, it leads to generic candidates who all tend to give the same stock answers. I am always much more intrigued by the people who stand out for just being themselves. I think playing the game is why schools have gone to more complex interview processes with lessons, multiple committees, etc. to try to see the real candidate.
ReplyDeleteGiving students a reward for doing something that is expected of them is the wrong thing to do. It sounds to me that it is not working effectively anyways. If it was truly working the attendance would be soaring and there would be holistic excitement about this event. Reward students for doing something out of the ordinary, rather than what is expected.
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. Playing the game is unfortunately a large part of education. I have been in many situations where I had to play the game and in some cases the results were still very disappointing.
I also think back to our first class where we determined the personality profile of each member. Perhaps the school that Adam interviewed at was looking for a persuader because they felt they had the other aspects already covered. I am not sure if districts do that, but it was definitely stressed during our first class to have a well rounded team.