Interview paper

I really enjoyed Mr. Browley coming into our classroom to speak to us. I thought the answers he gave to our questions were very honest and interesting. I really enjoyed hearing his input on what makes and effective teacher as well. He told us to just “be yourselves, do the best job that you can do, and if an older teacher offers advice, take it!”  He also said to not sweat the evaluations; the more nervous we are the more likely we will mess up. It’s better for us to just be relaxed and do what we know how to do best, teach. I think this is very important because many teachers do get nervous during evaluations. I feel like if I’m doing the best I can, and giving it my all while still being myself, I should be fine.

Mr. Browley was the Oneonta superintendent for 8.5 years before retiring. He is now back at Oneonta high school as an interim superintendent for only 10 months. He was only retired for 13 months when he chose to go back and he says he doesn’t mind it. I thought this part of the interview was very interesting. He said he wakes up early, some days 4:45, and he doesn’t get home until 11:30-12:00 at night. When we asked him if he regretted every leaving his teaching career to become a superintendent, he replied “some days I second guess it, if you would ask me what I had more fun doing I’d tell you teaching and being with the children, but, the superintended has more positives and I leave a bigger effect on the students now than I did when I was their teacher.” I liked how he opened up to us and explained to us in detail his job. He was honest with his responses and that is something that I appreciate and am happy he did because it gave me a better experience.

My uncle is actually the president of my school board back home. He is really good friends with my superintendent so my family and I are actually friends of the superintendent as well. He has spoken with me prior to me graduating high school and just told me to shoot for the stars and to be myself. I find that very inspirational because he knows what it takes to be a good teacher and he believes in me! He has also spoke to me on many things that Mr. Browley brought up in the interview. I am glad that I had the experience to be somewhat close to my superintendent because it helped, and it still continuing to help, me become the best teacher I can be. Mr. Browley had great words to say for all of us as well, and I think he knows that we all have the potential to be great educators, considering were education majors! I’m just glad that we got to hear it from the head person so now I have a clearer picture of what I should be doing.

 We had touched on this a bit in class, how to act, how to get hired and how to be professional, but Mr. Rowley really explained what schools are looking for. He stated that in order to be a candidate for a teaching position at his school, you need to be yourself. You need to go into the interview with a strong head on your shoulders and be very confident and relaxed. He said that he wants to make sure you are a very qualified human being who enjoys kids to the fullest, takes criticism and advice from others and has an amazing personality. If he believes you do, then he will hire you and you will be put on a 3 year probation which in those 3 years you need to prove yourself. If you prove to be the same person from the interview, than you will most likely get offered tenure. If after those 3 years you do not get offered tenure, chances are you will no longer be teaching in that district. In these 3 years however, you also have to prove to be an effective teacher. Your students should excel and be able to reach growth and achievement. You also need to be a team player, your students should be getting along with one another, you should be getting along with your staff and faculty, and you need to keep your personality from the interview. These are the most important traits that you need to be able to get tenure. I believe this is the best advice to receive as a future teacher. It helps me to prepare for my interview process and what should be expected from me in those years leading up to receiving tenure.

When Mr. Browley spoke about the budget there were many connections that I made to the article we had to read for Journal 2. The budget is a huge deal for schools and I think it’s safe to say that it is for Oneonta too. Mr. Browley said that it is just going to get worse and there really isn’t anything they can do about it. I fully agree because NYS doesn’t really seem to put in the actual effort in for schools which kind of leaves them all in the dust. Schools are struggling finically and it’s just getting worse. They are not receiving the proper funds from the government to help them function which is leading to many closings state wide. These issues not only go along with the article we read for journal 2, but they also go hand in hand with our chapter 13 in the book. The government doesn’t give enough funding to schools where needed, especially special education. I think that our government should re-evaluate their funds and consider helping schools out a little more. Schools deserve money, plain and simple and the government doesn’t seem to believe they deserve a lot. However, the government pushes for everyone to continue their education through college yet the prices are ridiculous and many people can’t afford it. I just don’t think it’s fair and I think that something needs to be done. The education system is getting worse and worse lately and I don’t see it going up anytime soon. I’m not sure why they don’t seem to think these issues are a big deal. Budgets are causing many teachers to lose their jobs and many schools to be closing. I believe the government needs to step in and do their part instead of just sitting back and watching.

The interview went on and so many good questions were asked and answered, but, overall I thought the interview went very well. I appreciate Mr. Browley coming in to speak to us and giving us the inside scoop. He was a very nice guy and I’m glad we actually had the chance to meet him and conduct this interview. Becoming a teacher is such a scary and nerve wrecking process, especially with all these teacher evaluation tests (which Mr. Browley thinks are dumb!). It felt good to just be reassured that I am in this major for the right reasons and that I will find a job. With the way society has been going lately, teaching jobs especially, I feel good in knowing that there is still hope and that I will someday be able to accomplish my dreams!