[kisito]

I was offered a job on condition that I do a demo lesson for a kids class. There were government officials, TV cameras and the rest , sitting at the back and watching the lesson . I had never even seen these kids and it was a 40 min lesson with a class of over 50 kids- mostly 6 o 7 year olds. Luckily it worked out well and I got the job. But I have never been so nervous. What was your scariest teaching observation moment?

[Mikepass]

That sounds horrendous. The worst we have to do in South Korea is hold an open class for the Local and Native English teachers from surrounding schools. Last year it was little scary as I didn't know anyone, but this year it will be a breeze. I do hate teaching parent open classes though, as every parent has a different idea about what I should be teaching and how I should be teaching it. Still, I have never encountered anything as frightening as you have had to contend with. What part of China are you in? I'll remember not to apply for a job there.

[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.