Requiring ‘demonstration lessons’ before hiring teachers
From the Washington Post, Education section:
D.C. schools aim for selectivity by requiring teaching candidates to give tryout lessons
This article reminded me of the teaching demonstration I was recently asked to do for an interview. In fact, before I even came in to do the real-life demonstration I was first asked to send a video of me teaching a lesson as well. It’s definitely refreshing to hear that this is becoming a more common practice, but apparently it is still a rare sight across the country. I can’t imagine how you can hire a teacher without seeing her in a classroom first!
Teacher recruiting has traditionally been about resumes, references and interviews. Tryouts under actual classroom conditions remain rare. For example, a new survey of Los Angeles teachers by the National Council on Teacher Quality found that only 13 percent were asked to do a sample lesson as part of their screening.
3 responses to “Requiring ‘demonstration lessons’ before hiring teachers”
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- - May 28, 2012
the Student Becomes an Educator 
Resumes, references, degrees, etc. don’t mean much when you’re thrown into a classroom with 25 kids for the first time truly on your own. I agree we’re doing a disservice to the prospective teacher, fellow teachers, the school as a whole and, most importantly, the kids by not doing something like a tryout basis of employment. Teaching is hard and not suited for just anyone, no matter what their degree and license might say.
Agreed! I’m surprised this isn’t a more common practice. If you’re bringing someone in for an interview, it’s not hard to take an extra 20-30 min. for a demo. I would actually be kind of worried if they didn’t ask me!