It is not what you know but who you know. This will be a repeating theme in my story. On September 6 or Day 18, I spoke about getting hired. This is about the interview before getting hired. The first time I encountered this was while getting hired at Montview. One of my professors in my teaching program was an instructional leader at Montview. Like other programs, the University of Denver employed adjunct professors who were working in the field. Cheryl was a talented teacher and gave us a good background for teaching reading and writing. Cheryl suggested I try for the primary position that was open at Montview. She said that even if I didn’t get the position, it would be practice interviewing. I got through the paper process and my name was given to Montview for consideration. When I met with them I was frightened and intimidated. I was at a kidney-shaped table with six people and I was in the hot seat. All of the women were in the primary grades or administrators. Leading the interview was my professor Cheryl. It didn’t make me any less nervous but I did have a face I recognized.
The questions came from all sides for about 45 minutes. I felt like I was doing well until a question about the reading process came up. I started my answer confidently and about halfway through my answer I felt a sharp pain in my shin. I started to answer again and felt another sharp pain. I thought it was someone stretching their legs under the table. The second blow told me that I had made an error with my answer. I realized that the blows to my shin were not a simple stretch but were intentional by Cheryl. I was not willing to risk a third bruise. The easiest way to say it is that I changed my answer and got the job. A few months later I was talking to Jana who was across the hall and asked her what it was about my interview that convinced them to hire me. She told me that since it only took two kicks to the shin before I figured things out, I could be molded into a good teacher. The rest is the thirty-year journey since that day.