Interview # 1
A School That Is Starting Up in September in Harlem.
This school is the first of perhaps thirty schools to be created in the next ten years. A City Council member has been put in charge of the endeavor by the city. I interviewed with her and I learned quite a lot from our short conversation.
The school sounds amazing. It will offer low income children a new experience. The school day will be from 8:15 - 5. Kids will get science everyday. Every kid will take other amazing classes like karate, chess, knitting, and dance as well as the usual P.E., art, music trifecta.
She explained to me that this was a job for people who were appalled at how low income and minority students in this city are getting cheated by the terrible public schools. She is looking for people on a mission to change this. In its first year, the school will only be K and 1st grade. Each successive year, a new grade will be added.
She let me know that if I got in now, that I would put myself in a good position to lead some of the newer schools to be created in years to come.
Holy shit! Talking to her, I began to get excited! I could finally start trying to really do something truly worthwhile. But, wow, would this be much different than what I'm used to.
And the question arose - am I someone on a mission or do I just simply teaching? Anyone who knows me knows that the only mission I am currently on is to go to a baseball game in every state of the union. Could I do this job? I'm sure I could but it would become my life and I don't think I can handle that.
My day would easily be expanded by 4-5 hours a day, especially factoring in the long commute time to Harlem. I don't really have any desire to teach first grade. If the kids were older or if the school wasn't so incredibly far away, I think I would really be interested in pursuing something like this. Or maybe I'm just tricking myself.
I was told that the school has received 1,000 resumes from around the world. There are only ten positions available. She seemed quite interested in hiring me and pretty much told me that the ball was in my court. Of course, I would have to come in for a demo lesson, so nothing was a given but still. 1,000 resumes for 10 postions? Man, I was beginning to feel quite good about myself!
Today I e-mailed them and let them know that I was removing myself from the running. I just can't see taking this kind of giant step in my career.
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3 comments:
Hey... First graders produce some very blog-worthy quotes. (I taught first grade for a few a years)
But you're right, it would be real work and if you did well, which you would, of course, you'd be on the mission career path, sort of Jonathan Kozol with a much better sense of humor.
What's next I wonder.
I'm ready to write that letter of recommendation for you but only under severe pressure. You have to be dying for the job.
Oh my. You are right to know that that would be your life. But what a life! Wow. Congratulations on being immediately recognized as one of the few people who could pull the effort together and pull it off.
kozol with a sense of humor! i love it.
oh yeah, one thing i didn't make clear was that the reason this school contacted me is because they got my resume from the search firm that i sent my stuff to. i wouldn't have contacted a school so far away from home.
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