Enter Mr. Elementary--Life in the T-Building

I teach in a trailer.

The rest of my school is very big, but that's OK. I like my little world outside of the main building. It comes with excellent benefits:

My own window unit.
The ability to staple onto the walls as I please (screw you, sticky tack!).
Not as many walkthroughs from the rest of the administration.
Another teacher in an adjoining classroom (easy bathroom buddy system implemented there).

I'm NAM, A.K.A. Mr. Elementary. You can close your wide-open mouth now; I really am a male teacher.

I'm excited to finally start posting on The Anonymous Teacher. I'd been meaning to throughout my job search, but during that period of time, I didn't know whether I was going to ever be working as a teacher.

However, things have a way of working out. If you are reading this and are entering the profession, heed my words of advice:

E-mail every principal, even if you have called and the secretary says he or she will call you back: For the most part, the principal is not going to call you back unless you directly address him or her. I guess it shows initiative. In fact, I didn't get interviewed for my current position until I had sent an e-mail to pretty much every principal across several districts and charter schools. And guess what? Even after I was hired, principals were still e-mailing me requesting interviews.

When you write your e-mails, be sure to include your resume and sound professional, like a cover letter. In fact, I used my cover letter as the body text of my e-mail and attached my resume to a Word document (nothing fancy or high-tech, and don't be a liar on your resume).

Interview tips: Good job snagging that interview. Now don't screw it up by going in with a rehearsed answer. You may hear the same questions over and over again at your interviews, but the principals are more interested in how you think and your personality. Don't be on your guard. Be comfortable with who you are and ride on what you think your best characteristics are. In my interviews, I rested myself on the side of my chair. If there were no arm rests, I used a table near me to relax. Be sure to breathe, and don't rush to answer a question. Take a short moment to really think about the question so you don't spout out another rehashed question about classroom management. What would you really do? And oh my lord, please smile, nod, and be a part of the conversation. My dad's words of wisdom for interview tips: "The more you talk in an interview, the more you like yourself. The more you listen to the interviewer, the more they like you."

And don't forget to follow up. They seem to like that.

The offer: Congratulations! You got a job offer! Uh oh, was it not your first choice? Don't panic! Calmly lie and say you have another interview coming up and ask if you can go to that interview first to think about it. Say that you would like to call them back following the interview. If that does not work, ask for 24 hours. If that does not work, think about if it is worth passing up the job.

That's all the advice I can think of at the moment. I acquired this knowledge through 5 months of a harsh job market with loads of trial and error. So don't get discouraged because it happens to all of us, whether we are new or experienced teachers. Don't forget to keep searching even while interviewing. Connections are good!

For next time: More about me, as well as why student teaching didn't properly prepare me for the classroom!