I So Didn't Feel Better

The auditions on Friday were interesting. One person nailed it--though I did put in my comments section that her saying, "You don't know jack..." could be considered by wider audiences as vulgar. I also suggested her telling a group of adult learners that she prayed to God asking for Him to just kill her now was perhaps not the best use of an example of something she found unbearable. 

The other four auditions were various levels of tedious. Two worked in the financial planning world and want to teach real estate agents about money-type things. The guy who spent 15 minutes promoting his book and saying that agents could have residual income by giving referrals was shocked to find out that agents cannot take or give monetary referrals to non-agents without losing their licenses. That kind of ruined his entire schtick. He was the better of the two money-gurus. 

We also had someone who had been an agent as long as I have and she did ok, but wasn't terribly dynamic. But hey, at least she knew how to talk to grown-ups!

Then we had Barbara. 

Barbara did not completely grasp that she was auditioning in front of a panel who would be deciding if she had a future teaching at the association and that her part was to only last 15 minutes. She started her presentation by telling her panel of reviewers her rules for her classroom and asking for participation from us panelists that we fully would follow her rules. She let us know these were hard-rules and she would be lording over us (the panel) from that point forward with an iron fist as if we were in some sort of military-based junior high full of delinquents. 

She then had only 10 minutes to wow us with her brilliance. Which she didn't. 

Beth, who was part of the panelists, sent me a text half way through Barbara's audition. It said--and I'm not making this up: "This should be making you feel better." 

Better about what? Barbara was drowning and didn't even think to ask for water wings! I felt terrible for the woman. Nobody wants to see such a train wreck. However, I was curious and I know better than to be catty with Beth, so I replied, "How so?" 

Beth's reply was, "She has zero instructor skills."  

That should make me feel better?! 

Now, I am sure but that was probably some sort of compliment to me. Right? After all, Beth might think I have at least some instructor skills. Hopefully. However, Beth had been bemoaning to the group when we started about how she's been teaching this six hour contract class all by herself lately (the class I was team-teaching with her earlier in the year and she hasn't invited me back to teach). But I can't think of any reason why else she would have sent me the note. Marty proffered the theory that maybe Beth thinks I am too discouraged to teach. That might be true if Beth ever got around to inviting me to teach again she would find out the answer.