Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

My Daughter's Job Interview (Teaching)
colocdn's daughter | May 8, 2012 | Vanity (colocdn's daughter)

Posted on 12/05/2012 10:53:12 AM PST by ColoCdn

The clock ticked a little impatiently, waiting for an answer. My answer. The interviewer’s question stuck in my mind, “Have you worked with diverse students before?” Looking past her wide set eyes, I focused on the picture of MLK behind her head. He stared down at me with knowing eyes. Brooding. Silent. Without reserve.

I paused, finding the answer to her question. “Yes. I have worked with diverse students. I mean, I’ve been an English Language Development teacher for the past two years and all of my students have been Hispanic.”

“I wouldn’t call that diverse.” She caught me with smug eyes. I looked down at my white hands, and knew she was right. The word, “diverse,” stuck in the air, stranded between generations, mollified by affirmative action, silently accusing me of a skin color I had no control over.

The air was heaving with Presumptions.

My thoughts sputtered and stuttered, like my Ford’s engine trying to turn over. Revving through my mind, I managed to control their violent whirring with a modest, “You’re right. I guess I have not worked with a very diverse population.” The interviewer studied me coolly. She knew she had won. Beat me at her own game. Presumptions settled comfortably in the office air.

Shakily I grabbed my coffee, almost spilling the tasteless liquid onto my dress pants. Taking a slight sip, I tried to calm my nerves. This was a job I really wanted. I wanted to be a writing teacher. A teacher who inspired other students. Students who may not have a love for writing, but students I could convince to love it. If only, I could have a chance. A chance to—

“ So then, why do you want to work with the students at our school?” The interviewer’s cool composure remained, interrupting my confidence. From his spot on the white wall, MLK gazed at me, a little sorrowful, a little pained.

“Growing up, my family didn’t have very much money. We got by, but we didn’t have a lot, which meant I had to find a way to pay for my own education. My father encouraged me to go to college, no matter what—he was an immigrant himself, you see, from Canada. He used to say, ‘No matter what happens, no one can take your education away.’ And I believed him, with all my heart—and went on to be the first person in my family to graduate not only with a bachelor’s, but with a master’s degree. And now, I want to help others achieve the same goal.”

I took a breath, pleased with my answer, trying to read the interviewer’s poker face.

“Uh-huh.”

Unimpressed, the interviewer scribbled a few words down on a scratch sheet of paper. I couldn’t help but feel a bit slighted. My words were like whispers to the Presumptions. Presumptions that didn’t know about the children of Canadian immigrants. Presumptions that weren’t interested in the white children of blue collar workers. Presumptions that claimed they knew what I was all about; who played Master of the Interview and Master of Diversity.

MLK’s eyes looked down at me still—careworn and concerned. They reminded me for a moment of my father’s eyes. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character…” I looked at my interviewer, the gavel raised in her eyes.

“Well, that’s all I have for you. Do you have any questions for me?”

I thought for a few seconds, concerned that I wasn’t being heard. That my worth was being measured by less than what I was.

“Not right now.” I said, feeling defeated by Presumption. Defeated by premature assessment. Defeated by Prejudice.

“Okay,” she said. “Your next interviewer will be in shortly.”

The gavel banged down, sentencing me to Presumption and Presupposition. I took one more calming sip of my watery coffee and suddenly the words of my father came back to me, “Life isn’t fair.” Only now, I truly understood what he meant.


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: discrimination; diverse; diversity; education; multiculti; multiculturalism; prejudice; racism; vanity
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-79 next last
This was my daughter's synopsis of a recent job interview. This is my only vanity up to this point, but I wanted to share it because I thought her writing was brilliant. She sent it on to see if it might be published in a commentary form. It wasn't. (Shocker)
1 posted on 12/05/2012 10:53:18 AM PST by ColoCdn
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

Comment #2 Removed by Moderator

To: ColoCdn

Thanks for sharing the wonderful prose. Best wishes for your daughter.


3 posted on 12/05/2012 11:00:05 AM PST by andyk (I have sworn...eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn

Reality is not the lies they sell on tv. There endeth the sad lesson.


4 posted on 12/05/2012 11:00:50 AM PST by Andrei Bulba (No Obama, no way!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn

Sounds like she may have a great case for a discrimination lawsuit.


5 posted on 12/05/2012 11:00:53 AM PST by Blood of Tyrants (Why is the government more concerned about protecting a microbe on Mars than an unborn baby here?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn
‘Diversity’ is so much more important than knowledge and achievement in Obama’s America. In the summer of 2008, I received an e-mail from my cousin's son, a white college student working for Obama’s election. It simply said ‘when Obama is President, white people are going down’. Our country has been sacrificed on the altar of past injustice. I doubt I will see a successful, prosperous America again in my lifetime.
6 posted on 12/05/2012 11:02:32 AM PST by originalbuckeye
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn

I once had to tell a highly qualified white man that he would not get the job he was interviewing for because I had been given orders to hire a minority.................


7 posted on 12/05/2012 11:02:37 AM PST by Red Badger (Lincoln freed the slaves. Obama just got them ALL back......................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn
"MLK’s eyes looked down at me still—careworn and concerned."

That is just sad.

8 posted on 12/05/2012 11:03:07 AM PST by NoGrayZone (For evil to triumph it is only necessary for good men to do nothing.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn
I've emphasized the key word in this paragraph that explains why your daughter didn't get the job.

 

“I wouldn’t call that diverse.” She caught me with smug eyes. I looked down at my WHITE hands, and knew she was right. The word, “diverse,” stuck in the air, stranded between generations, mollified by affirmative action, silently accusing me of a skin color I had no control over.

9 posted on 12/05/2012 11:03:31 AM PST by Responsibility2nd (NO LIBS. This Means Liberals and (L)libertarians! Same Thing. NO LIBS!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn
“Have you worked with diverse students before?”
We are all Africans.
10 posted on 12/05/2012 11:05:16 AM PST by Berlin_Freeper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn

I do not want to come off negative but your daughter needs to learn to think fast. Turn the question around - what do you mean by diverse? Do you mean gender? Do you mean skin color? Do you mean nationality? Get the interviewer to define the terms and then answer the question from.


11 posted on 12/05/2012 11:07:07 AM PST by 7thson (I've got a seat at the big conference table! I'm gonna paint my logo on it!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn

“Diverse”

And libs accuse us of using racist code words.

Another one of my faves? “Bilingual a plus!”

That means we’re gonna hire a Mexican - legal or not - and pay them 25 percent less than we could pay you. So don’t bother applying.


12 posted on 12/05/2012 11:07:34 AM PST by Responsibility2nd (NO LIBS. This Means Liberals and (L)libertarians! Same Thing. NO LIBS!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn

Tell your daughter to make the interviewer define the term “diverse”.

Then she can tailor her answer to meet the understanding oif the defined term.

Diverse can have many meanings. Never presume to know which one is being discussed or meant.


13 posted on 12/05/2012 11:07:41 AM PST by exit82 ("The Taliban is on the inside of the building" E. Nordstrom 10-10-12)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
....I had been given orders to hire a minority....

That game goes both ways. I was constantly involved in the hiring process for degreed engineers of all types. Dozens and Dozens and Dozens.

Whenever ANYONE even suggested that I give preference solely because of diversity, I responded "Sure! All you have to do is to give me that directive in writing." In case one thinks I was prejudiced and looking for a defense, I can honestly say my unit was the most diverse of the whole organization that I knew of. The difference was that I didn't accept incompetence because of diversity. Everyone I hired was well-qualified.

14 posted on 12/05/2012 11:09:06 AM PST by Gaffer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn
"Have you worked with diverse students before?"

My response: "No, they were all human beings."

Regards,

15 posted on 12/05/2012 11:11:19 AM PST by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn

I’m a minority and an immigrant. To my mind, diversity covers many parameters. It is *far* more than skin tone. None of us should miss opportunity to further that argument and not ced to the skin color issue. When in doubt, draw it out.


16 posted on 12/05/2012 11:13:05 AM PST by definitelynotaliberal
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 7thson

That’s what I’d been thinking. She ceded to the interviewer’s parochial view. They both had narrow horizons.


17 posted on 12/05/2012 11:14:33 AM PST by definitelynotaliberal
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn
From personal stories I've seen and things I've witnessed I have concluded that if a black person is put in charge of hiring they will do everything they can to hire a black person and not hire a white person. I know of at least 3 such people who have been “counseled” about it. Of course, a Caucasian doing the same thing would be fired out of hand. I think the best answer to the diversity question is, "Of course I've worked with diversity of people. All people are individuals, from individual backgrounds, and bring individual problems and talents to the table."

The follow up would be of course, "What about skin color?" to which the only good response is, "I don't categorize people's needs by their skin color. Is that a requirement of this job?"

Then file a grievance with the persons manager and start a lawsuit for racial discrimination.

18 posted on 12/05/2012 11:15:00 AM PST by SampleMan (Feral Humans are the refuse of socialism.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ColoCdn

I would advise your daughter, or anyone who is put in that position to ask the interviewer,”what do you mean when you say ‘diverse’? Are you referring to diversity of ability, diversity of skills, or diversity of beliefs?”
Put the inquisitor on the spot and make them tell you that they are talking about identity politics.


19 posted on 12/05/2012 11:19:42 AM PST by kabumpo (Kabumpo)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Responsibility2nd

Again, your daughter needs to get strong, and when the inquisitor says, “I wouldnt call that diverse” answer, “Really? Why not?”
Don’t let these pieces of crap Mau Mau you.


20 posted on 12/05/2012 11:23:52 AM PST by kabumpo (Kabumpo)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-79 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson