School teachers are in high demand these days, especially with so many jobs for science teachers opening up in the recent years. It is a noble profession and, in the UK, the earning potential is excellent. However, everyone must go through a few hurdles first to secure a job, with the interview being the most important one of those hurdles. If you are looking to work as a teacher, then you will find the following interview questions and the suggested answers helpful.
Q1. Why do You Want to Work in this School?
The is an obvious question, as it basically tests whether or not the candidate has done his/her homework regarding the school’s history, background, and mode of operations. Avoid generic answers and focus on making it related to how the school in question works specifically and how some parts of the curriculum appeals to you.
Q2. What do You Think a Student Looks for in a Teacher?
Here, they are asking you to highlight the key attributes of the ideal teacher from the point of view of the students. You need to focus on a few important keywords here, such as fairness, reliability, passion for the subject, communication skills, ability to explain, creativity, and sense of humour.
Q3. Evaluate the Class You Just Took
Aspiring teachers are often asked to take a class in the school that they are applying to and while that itself can be quite a difficult task, given that you don’t know the students or anything about them, the real test is when the interviewers ask you to evaluate your own class. Don’t be afraid to criticise yourself, but have confidence in the parts you did actually manage to cover well enough. Try to remember a few of the attending students’ names as well.
Q4. Any Question that’s Specific to Something Mentioned on Your Resume
Be honest about what you put on your resume because if there’s something that stands out, the interviewers may ask you about it in intricate detail. Make no mistake, standing out is a great way to get the job, but make sure that you remember everything well enough to answer questions about it.
Q5. If You are Not Selected, What Would We be Missing Out On?
Plain and simple, this is a question through which the interviewers give the candidates a chance to “sell” themselves. While the question might seem a bit intimidating, it is the perfect opportunity to tell them the best bits about you. It is advised that you prepare your pros in advance and practice speaking about them to others.
There are, of course, plenty of other questions you may have to face in order to crack an interview, but these five are the most common ones that appear in school teacher job interviews. They might put it in different words, but they are basically asking the same questions and now you know how to answer them.
