Stage Two

The word back about the interview was waiting for me when I checked my email this morning. They want to see me for a second interview on Monday.

Needless to say I'm pretty happy about it and am glad that I've been given the chance to repair some of my weaker responses. I knew that I didn't answer every question perfectly, but this gives me a second chance to answer a couple of specific questions.

My two biggest challenges with this job will be: making the complex theories and ideas relevant to teens; and, establishing a presence in the classroom so that the students will respond with confidence.

Some of the thoughts and ideas in the course are very abstract. How can I make them important to a teenager who has other more important things on his mind like girls, alcohol, and torturing his new teacher? How also can I relate modern pop culture issues to legitimate academic thought?

The fact that I went to this school gives me a great insight into just how ruthless and cruel its students can be to a hapless teacher. It's really important that I don't let them push me around. The ToK course, from my primary research, is seen as a bit of a joke, and managing the classroom can be all the more difficult if students are coming in with a poor mindset. When you plop into a classroom 20 of the extremely wealthy all of whom have spent 16 years of their life perfecting the art of not getting caught and are smart enough to play the system I can only imagine the challenges that might face me. Hell, would I want done to me all that I did to my high school teachers?

So, I'll spend the day preparing decent answers to these challenges, and cross my fingers that I can take care of business on Monday. Any suggestions?