Teacher Evaluation Series For School Administrators: Fill & Download for Free

Honestly, none.Some movie teachers are really a joke, such as the party animal Phil in “The Hangover” or Cameron Diaz in “Bad Teacher”. That's okay, because we know they are in the clown category.The HangoverOthers are larger than life and determined to change students' life for the better. The latter one shouldn't be a problem of course, but onscreen teachers overdo it. Such examples are Morgan Freeman's character in “Lean on Me" (he plays a principal), or Michelle Pfeiffer’s character in “Dangerous Minds".Lean on MeThey want to change students' parents or whole communities, they help their students financially without the school principal's or the parents' consent, stick their noses in the students' private lives, or influence the choice of their future careers at all cost. Also, they often play the roles of social workers, public motivators or psychiatrists.Dangerous MindsTeachers should inspire, but they should also know their boundaries. Instead of going on one-man secret life-saving missions, they should cooperate both with their school administration and parents, and stick to protocols, no matter what the problem might be. People outside schools forget that each school has its own policy, and every single decision has to be discussed, evaluated and confirmed before being put into written form. There is no much room for heroism or improvisation.But, there is one British TV series that was quite realistic, up to a certain point - Waterloo Road.Students and teachers seemed natural because acting was really good. The situations, the amount of stress and anxiety some teachers and students faced, and the buzzy and loud school atmosphere were lifelike. Unfortunaly, like most TV shows, this one also suffered from exaggerating. After the first promising episodes, eventually we faced way too many students drinking, fighting, doing drugs, and too many student-teacher relationships, which becomes more evident as the show progresses. As if average students didn't even exist.Waterloo RoadSo, back to the question. Teaching is not portayed realistically.It's too boring for the big screen.

I first encountered the concept of "teacher evaluation" when I was at Carnegie-Mellon University more than forty years ago. A new English Department Chairman had arrived from the University of Michigan, where professors were evaluated. I opposed evaluation. I was fairly confident I was one of the better teachers, but I believed the proposed evaluation would be done by some professors who were poor teachers -- and that it was likely to be done after sitting in the classroom two or three times.At the time, I found that the National Education Association had opposed teacher evaluation as early as 1915. I was put on the committee to consider the process and evaluation did not come to pass while I was there.Personally, I think that evaluating personnel is essential to an effective operation. The most effective method is peer review in industry. In education that is unlikely to work, since teachers work independently and are not observed by each other as part of the ordinary working day.More recently I was on the faculty of an elite boarding school in South Korea. The faculty was evaluated using a series of questions formulated by the administration and scored by the students. My students regularly ignored the questions and gave me a high score. The questions, in my view and theirs, were irrelevant to education ("is the lesson plan clearly laid out at the beginning of the year?")The idea that testing of students is a reliable tool for judging teachers is shortsighted. It would lead to the retention and promotion of those most capable of test prep work. In Korea, where test prep is a fine art, I have seen students who could not speak coherent English write SAT essays that scored 11 out of a maximum 12. They memorized passages written by test prep experts and wrote them without much regard to the question. It works.So there are good reasons not to use evaluations. In a bureaucracy, where there is little measuring of overall performance and where the supposed customer is compelled to purchase the service, favoritism is likely. The real customer, of course, is the bureaucracy itself.Adam Smith, a professor of logic and moral philosophy, in his Wealth of Nations explained the problem in education and the solution. He noted that if anyone other than the student paid the teacher, the teacher would have little incentive to do well, and many incentives to work with other teachers to make life easier. The system we have developed, with taxpayers compelled to pay educational bureaucracies that hire and retain and promote teachers produced by educational bureaucracies, is designed to fail -- if our measure is benefit to students or the society.Evaluation wouldn't change this situation. At best, it would provide the illusion that someone cares and is doing something about it -- a bit like No Child Left Behind. Bureaucracies are good at looking busy.

If you do not complete your SLO, it will be reflected in your Teacher Evaluation and could put you on track for a non-renewal of your contract with your school. I remember when SLOs first came along and I was freaked out but it really is not that big of a deal. Once you decide on what test you are using (I use the reading placement test from our reading series and the math test from the State of Ohio) you simply give it at the beginning of the year. Next you grade the test and figure out what growth outcomes you will use and then write up your report.I check throughout the school year to be sure I am teaching the things that need to be taught. I give the test again at the end of the year, grade it and check for needed growth. I then fill in the their new score and check whether they hit the growth they needed.If you are worried that your kids won’t do well, you just have to do your best. I know good teachers who have a class of kids who like to make life difficult and their results are awful. It is one year and your administration should know your prowess is the classroom. Good luck.