Coming together and looking up

Its another long weekend (not by choice) for me, but not to fret - things are coming together and life is looking good!

My big bit of news is that I've gone to an interview for a 2-term (January - July) Reception position (Kindergarten for all of the non-British out there) at a relatively nearby school.  Even better, I was given some very positive feedback by my agency - they said I was one of the top candidates!  There was still one or two others they were going to interview and I should hear something by Tuesday.  This is great for me as it shows I'm learning from my mistakes and improving.  Fingers crossed for good news!

Teacher interviews over here are about 2 - 3h long and usually include two parts: a trial lesson and a formal interview.  The practical lesson is where you go in and teach a lesson to the class.  This can be difficult as you aren't familiar with the class' level or exact spot in the curriculum.  Some schools will give you a specific subject to teach while others will allow you to choose.  Regardless, a member of the senior management team will be there grading you (similarly to your B.Ed practicum evaluation :).  Its usually expected for you to bring a formal (typed) lesson plan and offer a copy to your evaluator (forgot this last time). 

The second part of the interview is where you sit down with your evaluator and "have a chat".  You'll talk about the lesson (good and bad parts), your experience, qualifications, plans, etc.  Its a good idea to have researched the school (esp recent OFSTED reports) so that you have some constructive things to say.  OFSTED is the organization that is responsible for inspecting and grading schools on a range of criteria to ensure that the schools are delivering quality educational experience for the students... needless to say, most schools do not have a high opinion of OFSTED :).  I think I performed fairly well on this - the only area where I am lacking is experience in long-term planning.  Then again, most new teachers are.

Otherwise, life is going well.  I only had 3 days of work (plus my interview day) so I decided to explore a different part of London.  I hopped on the train and went up to Victoria Park.  Its a nice area - the "Hyde Park" of the East.  Being a Friday afternoon, there were very few people out and I enjoyed a rare bit of peaceful solitude in the city.  A nice time to think and reflect... but as this post is already quite long, I'll save those ruminations for another day.