[HUE]

That really does sound horrible, Kisito. I usually look at a demo lesson as a second interview. You've made the first cut, and now they want to compare your repoire and organizational skills in a real classroom setting. Of course, there are schools with poorer track records who basically want to guarantee that you aren't a complete moron.

Good to hear that you got the job, though!

[kisito]

I was being hired by the government education department of a town of Shenzhen- China, and one reason I thought they brought these cameras and people to observe the lesson was because it was the first time they were hiring a foreign teacher and some had never watched a foreign teacher teach. So curiosity was one reason. But that notwithstanding was the worst lesson observation I had ever been through. One reason I got the job as one official told me was that despite the tense atmosphere around me and the kids, I still managed to get them singing and dancing- even speaking freely. But it was the longest 40 mins of my teaching life.
They also expect me to do more open demos in future, for other teachers to watch and subsequently workshops with teachers.