NYCTF Does Not Mess Around w/ Interviews

So, yesterday was my 4+ hour interview w/ the NYC Teaching Fellows program.  (For those who didn't know, I applied earlier this month to become a Special Education teacher through NYCTF -- check 'em out for more info.  It's pretty cool.)

I got there at 3:30pm.  We were s'posed to arrive at 4pm for a 4:15pm registration & 4:30pm start-time.  I wasn't the only early bird either... most folks were there before 4.

Any old ways, when told I had to take a math test, complete a written activity, give a 5-minute lesson, participate in a group activity & then do a one-on-one interview, I responded, (not verbatim), "you've got to put the pipe down b/c that ain't happening."  But, it did & you know what?  It was pretty darn cool & a bit fun.

I have no clue how I did on the math test.  It wasn't your basic elementary school math questions, but tricky ones where they give you a scenario & you've got to come up w/ answered basic on that (ie: If Ms. Fisher wanted to teach her kids some fraction problem & there's more than one answer possible, which of the below are correct...).  30 minutes for 23 questions.  I wonder if they give you the score.  I shoulda asked.

The written activity was based on a short video scenario of a not-so-behaving-well class during homeroom.  After watching the clip & reading the description of three kids, we had 7 minutes to craft our response to how we'd deal w/ each one's situation.  Once again, not sure how I did.  I submitted only a paragraph, but it was a powerful one.

After that we were split into groups & assigned classrooms to complete the interview process.  We had two "selectors" (NYCTF staff) who guided & assessed our way through.  The 5-minute lessons were more fun than torture, but leading up to it was painful b/c I was so nervous.  We took turns -- I was third to go up.  My lesson was on how to tell when the letter Y was being used as a consonant or as a vowel using the Magic of YUH.  It was geared towards 1st graders.  I think I did well, except for rushing through parts & not participating enough w/ the "students" to see if they were getting what I was teaching.  I did that here & there, but I shoulda done more.  Others also came in super-prepared w/ boards, handouts, etc.  I was armed w/ doggy stickers.

The group activity was brief & painless.  We had to just discuss the earlier scenario we watched & wrote about, then give a one-minute presentation on our long-term & short-term goals to achieve academic success.

Finally, came our one-on-one interviews.  Luckily, we had two selectors, so they split us up.  I was third again in line.  We went over the 5-minute lesson.  He gave me feedback -- nothing surprising -- & I had to do it over again.  Then we talked for a bit about different ways I would handle certain situations.

By 8:45pm, I was on my way home.  Very tired, but wired from the experience.

Ooh, before I hit "publish" let me just say the NYCTF candidates that I met yesterday were an amazing, groovy group of people.  They were so dedicated and chomping at the bit to be a high-needs teacher.  Just very neat.