I thought that I would share this story [so that] parents [know] what is actually going on in their schools and with their kids’ teachers.
I’m a pre-service teacher with several years of experience as a teacher’s aide teaching Black and brown kids and am now applying for primary teaching jobs; I wanted to share with you some of the behind the scenes info that happened in my interview with a major school district in Minnesota.
This was for an application pool into the district, meaning that if I pass this one, I will very likely be offered a job at a school.
My interviewers asked me about 8 questions and not a single one asked specifically about my instructional methods or closing the achievement gap. They asked: why I wanted to work for them, how I incorporate critical literacy, and what I do to engage students (which is code for making sure students have fun students). The latter two are obviously important given how schools are sites of trauma for Black kids and other KOC, but considering the abysmal test scores of Black students, and other students of color in this district, I would have expected instruction to be at the top list of priorities.
I almost felt like I had to lie on my answers or pander my racial/community identity because they didn’t like that my responses first and foremost focused on the academic success of my kids.
I wanted to share this with you because I know of your work and overall commitment to quality education for Black kids.
Thank you for your time.
-Anonymous
This message was received from a teacher who wishes to remain anonymous but wanted to highlight what they see as a problematic hiring process for a district that is currently failing students of color.
