See For Yourself

Yesterday, I had an interview with Principal Dickey with East Oakland Leadership Academy. She was considering me for an 8th grade position that they had available. I found it strange that they were considering me for an 8th grade position. They've seen my resume. They know that I've mainly had experience with just kindergarten, 3rd, and 5th grade. So, at the very least, it kind of concerns me. Knowing that, I still went to the interview. The interview felt extremely easy for me. All I did to prepare for it was have examples ready for all of the following questions in this link.

Literally, an hour later, the principal calls me right back. She leaves a message asking me whether I could sub on May 29th. I hesitated at first. But, all I really have to lose is time. The sub position will be from 8 am to 2 pm. That will give me time to get a feel for whether the school is alright. Also, I assume that the principal will take some of that time to observe my performance. Further, I'll be compensated for my time.

Another reason why I was concerned is because one of the teachers that works at Chabot Elementary says that he's worked for East Oakland Leadership Academy before. He claimed that the superior to the principal abused her power. He said that she would illegitimately take money out of his paycheck. In the end, it's all hearsay to me. I need to experience the environment for myself. If he hadn't told me anything, I wouldn't be second guessing my conviction. I would be jumping right on top of this opportunity. Why? Because I would want to take whatever opportunity I can get. Hell... I wanted a K-5 position and I'm making myself adaptable for a 6th grade position.

Also, after actually being at the school, the kids actually seem pretty well behaved. I would be more understanding of the Chabot teacher's position if the school was visibly utter chaos, but when I was there, no kids gave me nor any of the faculty any attitude. I don't think a school that didn't have good control would have well behaved students. My impression of the school is still quite minimal, but I have no reason to suspect there is anything chaotic or seriously flawed about it. I'll take a deeper investigation next week to see how the school is.