Nothing school leaders do is more important than interviewing teacher candidates. Deciding whether someone is worthy of instructing and influencing other people's children--what a huge responsibility!
Many schools base this crucial decision on how a candidate performs during a demonstration lesson. But should the demo lesson be a deal breaker or deal maker?
If a candidate was unprepared or seemed incapable of connecting with students, then yes, the demo should be a deal breaker. On the other hand, an awesome demo lesson should not be an automatic deal maker. In fact, several principals have told me about teachers who aced their demos but failed in their own classrooms.
