Don't make me make a decision...

Today was, as usual for Friday, quite busy. I was fortunate in that one of my team teachers had planned some kind of activity that didn't require my presence, so I had one class period I could use to grade papers.

After school, I was on the panel of interviewers to select which students to recommend for the exchange student position to Michigan. Five girls applied, and we could recommend three, after which the Board of Education will narrow it down to one. After listening to all the interviews, we managed to fill the top two slots without too much trouble, but then it came down to which student we should recommend for the third slot. The problem was that one of the applicants had great grades (top in her class) and excellent English grammar/pronunciation, but her responses to the interview questions were slow (she's obviously the type who pauses to think over her answers before saying anything) and she seemed quite nervous. The other two had lower English/academic skills, but they responded faster and with more confidence. So the question was whether to pick based on grades and pure English ability, or based on the impression given during the interview. This wound up being debated until nearly 5:30.

I'm so used to being the one applying for things, it's strange to be on the side making the decisions.