Thursday, October 7, 2010

Teach For America Said NO

It's been a few weeks since I've posted any updates about TFA or Peace Corps. Looks like now it's only Peace Corps as TFA is no longer interested in my candidacy. I had a phone interview with them about a week and a half ago. I wouldn't say it was a complete train wreck but it didn't start out very well and only got a little better as time passed. I don't remember who the interviewer was exactly but she was a TFA Corps member and I think I remember her saying she actually still teaches. Surprisingly, considering the interview was scheduled for 8:30pm, I had all day to think about it but I didn't actually get nervous until she called. She spent like 7 or so minutes just to tell me how the interview was going to be conducted and how phone interviews are sometimes awkward, so what to do if we got disconnected. I'm sure that opening schpeal is designed to make you more comfortable and less nervous but I was just anticipating getting going so I found myself replying "Ok, ok, ok" without actually fully paying attention to her directions. By the time we actually did get going and she asked me why I was interested in joining Teach For America, my ability to convey an actually satisfactory and concise response was already out the window. I don't remember what I said exactly, it was a sort of out of body experience, but whatever it was wasn't as eloquent as it should have been and I remember thinking throughout the rest of the interview that I should have written what I really wanted to do say down and practiced it earlier as that would quite surely be asked.

I spent the next 15 minutes of the interview just pacing the length of my apartment back and forth. I had researched some possible interview questions and typed notes on them which I taped to my wall but I found them to be quite useless as not much I prepared for was really asked. I was prepared to talk about my views on the achievement gap in American education, what core values central to the TFA mission I aligned best with, what I thought about the articles I was asked to read, etc. but every question was way more broad and certainly more personal. She asked me about people I didn't get along with, how I stay organized, working in groups, and other things unrelated directly to teaching. I think I answered them fine but I didn't have a real warm feeling when it was over.I didn't realize until after I got off the phone how sweaty I was. Even though it wasn't the best of initial interviews, I was still about 70% certain I would have advanced to the final round but I found out on Wednesday afternoon via email that I had reached the end of the road for my quest with TFA.

I still think TFA is a really great program that sets out to address a pretty large injustice in our country and I believe that along with most corps members really making an impact in the classroom, the big name of the program also raises awareness about the issue. Education inequity is not really something that can be easily solved or has a single solution. I still think I would have made a decent addition to the squad but I also believe that everything happens for a reason and denial into the program has gotten me really excited for the Peace Corps!

On Monday, I went to Campus Police and got my fingerprints done. PC sent me some charts and other paperwork needed before I can actually interview with them so I got that sent out with the fingerprints and transcripts Tuesday night to some office in VA so I hope they receive(d) it before the end of the week. I'm also making good progress with my thesis so 'Africa, Africa, Africa' is on my brain. I know that PC process takes a while as with any government agency, bureaucracy is at its finest... Paperwork, interview, more paperwork, extreme medical clearance, background check, probably more paperwork, and since this is an out of country experience, passport and visa nightmares. I'm definitely glad I didn't wait until later to apply. I guess I'll just keep waiting until the next step.