Remember me today.....

I'm going back to work this morning and my head is still about to explode. This past couple of days my migraine meds haven't done their job. That happens once in a blue moon. Usually they work brilliantly.

My main thing is that I am being evaluated this morning. That's no big deal except for the fact that I'm being evaluated by a "newbie" who only taught a few years - no so well, mind you, I witnessed it myself - and who has now moved into a supervisory role, with no training nor degree in that role (that's just how it works).

She's been notorious this year for giving bad evals to people. She gave me a poor "walk-through" eval back in October. In a walk through, a supervisor is supposed to come in - without warning obviously as it should be - and bring a notebook to document what she sees. She is supposed to stay a minimum of 15 minutes on a walk-through.

When she did my walk through, she stayed maybe 45 seconds and documented nothing.

My math students were finishing a test and those who were finished were either reading a library book or working on an art project. It was the end of the lesson, and everyone was productive and I was sitting in the back of the room with three students who need help in test-taking and was answering their questions. I had all the finished tests in my lap and was trying to grade while helping those three students.

I received a poor on the informal eval and she wrote on there that the students were "not engaged in learning anything and they were just coloring color sheets". She said I was "doing paperwork and not teaching". All of that was completely untrue.

I won't go into how that drove me over the brink and how I sinned in my heart against her.

Just remember me today. She is doing my formal eval which will count towards my keeping my job - literally. This one will be turned in to the state department.

I'm not worried about my teaching. I won't be putting on a dog and pony show, but only doing what I always do.

My concern is that if she doesn't follow the rules of formal observation like she didn't follow the rules of informal observation and if she does to me what she did to me back in October - it's not going to be pleasant.

I don't want to be unpleasant.

But my head hurts really bad and I've been listening to others who've received bad reviews from her and I just want to be what God wants me to be in this situation this morning.

I don't want to be ugly to anybody today.

 

Thanks everybody.

My head has eased up a lot, but I am tired. I felt like there were prayers that went up for me today - you know how you hear people say, "I could feel the prayers?" Somebody prayed. I could feel it.

She did come and brought another supervisor with her - that's not unusual. They stayed about 1 hour and brought notebooks. I really didn't pay attention to them at all, but just went about teaching.

She was supposed to have a conference this afternoon with each person she evaluated, but she moved it until tomorrow morning.

Myself and another colleague have talked to my principal about her once earlier in the year. I tried tactfully to explain that she is making novice mistakes that people make when they come into "power" and perhaps she needed some training.

My principal was grateful that I put it tactfully. She said so. She said that others had come to her and had NOT been so tactful.

We shall see tomorrow. I think that with the other supervisor there and them having to write the evaluation together, she probably won't be spiteful.

It's like she feels she has to be bossy and throw her weight around to be effective as a leader. That always backfires.

I feel better about it. Thank you.

 

Each teacher had to meet today with the supervisory committee - the new/rude supervisor, the other who watched me, the principal, and the high school supervisor.

The other supervisor (a nice enough lady) said that she scored me very high in all areas expect in the area of "transitions". This is when you are supposed to make changing classes, passing out papers, going to the bathroom, etc .... smooth, efficient, and with as little distraction from teaching as possible.

She said - verbatim - "I didn't get to witness any children passing out papers, so I had to dock you for that. Transitions need to be student-led, when possible, for maximum time efficiency."

I said very calmly and with a smile, "Well, it was my homeroom and we weren't transitioning from anywhere else. But I did send them all to the bathroom through the back door which is closest to outside facilities and I did have the first student who came back pass out today's materials. You just missed that part because my class starts at 7:30 and you all didn't come in until 7:45."

She (the nice one) said, "Well, I can't give you credit for good time-management in transition if I didn't see it."

I said, "I understand that and I'm not arguing. I just want you to know that the start-up time was managed well whether you saw it or not."

She went on to be very nice about how she thought my teaching was very effective and how she wished that she had had a math teacher like myself who broke it all down so simply. Other than the silliness about docking me for her not witnessing a student be in charge of supplies, I thought she was logical and fair.

However, the supervisor that we are having trouble with said this, "All I have to say is that I never saw any group work. It's all fine, well, and good for you to have them raise their hands, discuss concepts, and come to board, but group work is what I was looking for and didn't see it."

I said, "Did you not observe that I have everyone sitting in pairs? And that I said over and over - 'check your partner's work on this problem.' And 'you and your partner talk about to solve #5 and raise your hand when you've agreed on a solution.' That doesn't constitute cooperative learning?"

She looked very sullen and said very short-temperedly, "Well, they just didn't move around enough.."

I receive high marks and I understand how they cannot give the entire faculty a perfect score every single time or that looks like they are wimpy. I just don't like being nit-picked apart and to death JUST so you can write down something for me to "work on".

Two very good and very extraordinary teachers receive mediocre marks and they were hurt. One was told, "you need to read a book this summer on effective teaching." He is a marvelous teacher and was hurt deeply.

.................But it's over and I thank you for your prayers.

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