Most of it has been fairly straight-forward: questions about my academic and work experience, a required letter of intent including why I want to join TFA, etc. One set of questions, found on the "Academic Information" page, caught me off-guard yesterday, in part because of the superlative used in the first line.
- What is the longest amount of time you have ever spent pursuing a goal or interest or refining a skill?
- What was that goal/interest/skill?
- Are you still involved in this pursuit?
As you contemplate how you might answer these questions, bear in mind that this is not an essay prompt. The first question offers a drop down menu: less than one year, 1-2 years, 2-4 years, 4-6 years, more than 6 years. The second has a short answer line. The third, another drop down: yes, no, occasionally.
And remember, they're not asking you to highlight the goal/interest/skill that is most important to you or even focusing on that goal/interest/skill; the first question, and thus, seemingly, the most important piece of information, asks for the longest amount of time you've ever spent pursuing it. "Longest." A superlative, denoting the highest possible degree.
I couldn't answer this question immediately. In the hours I spent considering it, quite a few options passed through my mind. Two of my top considerations were basketball and my bachelors degree. But still, I wasn't sure if either of those was the short answer goal/interest/skill I wanted to highlight on my teaching application.
Finally, with the help of my boyfriend - who had no such difficulties identifying what goal/interest/skill he'd pursued the longest - I found the goal/interest/skill that I probably have pursued the longest in my life, and which also reflects well on my personal interests.
My final answers:
- More than six years.
- Language learning.
- Yes.
Feel free to comment with your own response to this intimidating superlative question...
4 comments:
This does seem quite intimidating. I think that my resolution would have been "see attached resume" and let them decide for themselves! :o) Good luck with your application!
Not only can I see you doing Teach for America, but I can see you being very good at it...or rather that type of thing :) Good luck!
Thank you for posting this. I don't know you, but I googled that same question to get inspiration for what I wanted to post and your blog came up as one of the top hits. I too have been pursuing being fluent in a language (Spanish) for quite some time, so it was a no brainer answer for me. Yet I wouldn't have thought of it without your help. Thanks! And I don't have time to read the rest of your blog, but I hope that you got in to TFA!
Hi, I don't know you personally but I wanted to thank you for posting this. I googled this exact question while filling out the TFA application to search for inspiration and your blog was one of the first hits. I too have been pursuing learning a language (Spanish) and I will be using that response. I do not have the time to read the rest of your blog, but I hope that you did get in to TFA if that is what you wanted! Thanks again.
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