High School Teacher

This question will come up at almost every elementary school interview. It's fairly common in the middle school and high school as well. You might have a weekly parent newsletter that you send home each week. For grades 3 and up, you may require students to have an assignment book that has to be signed each night. This way, parents know what assignments are given and when projects are due. When there are discipline problems you call home and talk to parents. It's important to have an open-door policy and invite parents to share their concerns at any time.

There are standardized assessments at almost every grade level. Be sure you know the names of the tests. Talk about your experiences preparing students. You'll get bonus points if you know and describe the format of the test because that will prove your familiarity.

If you interview in the United States, school administrators love to talk about state, local, or national standards! Reassure your interviewer that everything you do ties into standards. Be sure the lesson plans in your portfolio have the state standards typed right on them. When they ask about them, pull out your lesson and show them the close ties between your teaching and the standards.

Schools are looking for passion. They want to know if your child can start something and persevere long enough to master it. Let your child know not to discuss video games or TV shows, but instead, to discuss something educational like reading, leading a school committee/newspaper, science experiments, etc. These are more impressive answers to give, but don't have your child feign these interests if they are not authentic. Other notable topics could be musical instruments, sports, building model planes, etc. Regardless of what they choose to talk about, your child must show passion in their answer.

I am the type of teacher who shares with my peers the classroom experiences that I have had, whether good or bad. I do this because I believe that this the best way for me
and other teachers to improve our teaching. In this way, I get to share with them the best of my skills and, in return, they share with me the best of their skills. I also find
that this is a very good way to learn how to handle situations that are difficult or unusual. The feeling of not being alone, but being part of a team of teachers, is what I can bring to the school. This will help build morale and a great working environment.

This is probably the most common question, and your child must be able to discuss specific classes, after-school programs, or sports teams he/she wishes to join. Consider this response as an example to guide your child: "Your school stands out from all the rest because here, I know I can develop my love for science. I am particularly interested in your great laboratory. Can you tell me more about how I can use this facility?"

Admissions committees like this question so that they can assess how motivated the student is to attend their school. The applicant should know something about the school and which academic classes, sports, or extracurricular activities he or she might participate in at the school. It's compelling if the student has visited classes at the school or spoken to coaches or teachers to speak in a first-hand, vivid way about why he or she wants to attend the school. Canned, clichéd answers such as, "Your school has a great reputation" or cynical answers like, "My dad said I would get into a really good college if I went here" don't hold much water with admissions committees.

This is a very open-ended question, but you can easily help your child hone in on public figures they may find remarkable. Your child can mention famous historical icons, teachers, or leading innovators, and discuss why these people inspire him/her.

Schools want to hear about educational goals. However, it's even better if your child can connect these goals back to that specific school. For example, your child could discuss how he/she want to join a competitive math team and how he/she is extremely impressed with the school's current team.

Colleges look for students who will be a good match for their school. Your interviewer wants to see a genuine interest in the college. "There's always going to be a question 'Why do you want to come to our school?' so you really have to know the school," says Bev Taylor, an independent college counselor and director of the Ivy Coach. Spend time before the interview thinking about why that college would be a good match for you. "It's important to talk about yourself. Students need to do their homework before an interview. Find out what it is about themselves that can make them happy at that college," Taylor says.