Goals met?
My official evaluation was a week ago. I have my copy of it around here somewhere.... Anyway, things went wonderfully according to my vice principal. She was very happy with my performance. That is good, because I need to keep my job. She is happy, and my family has health insurance. My goals for the administration were met.
I do recall that I set different goals for myself, than I turned in for the powers that be. I wrote about my goals in my first post for IDEA. Let's see how I did....
1. I will work to create an atmosphere of personal responsibility, where people are able to express their needs of the curriculum, and get those needs met.
I established a good report with most of my students this year. I will admit that not all the 150 kids in my class were always happy to be there, nor did they decide that Spanish One was the most important class in their schedule, but all but one child passed the class. Students, over all, did participate in class work and story creation. During the final oral, kids were able to express themselves in short sentences, even if their overall score in the class was hovering at 60%. I feel I came close to meeting this goal, though I have room to grow in this area. There is a fine line between cultivating personal responsibility in students, and demanding behavioral standards and actual interest in the lessons. I hope in the future I can focus more on the individual and less on the trappings of a traditional high school class.
2. I will have the kids write personal goals for the class, and have them do self check-ins every grading period, and allow them to adjust their goals based on where they really are, and what they really want to achieve.
Kids did write and revisit goals this year. At the beginning of the year, they all wrote what they believed I wanted to hear. There was a lot of "I will earn an A in this class and study for it every night." As the year wore on, things changed: "I will keep my C and review the vocab once a week." When if became obvious that the goals had nothing to do with me, and all to do with a self check, the product was better and more real. I will continue to have kids write personal goals. I think it is beneficial for all of us.
3. I will place emphasis on what the students can create, and guide them toward higher levels of comprehension, but allow the final product be their own. I don't have a mass produced rubric to assess their products.
The students created some wonderful stories this year! I think that having them choose the presentation method, as well as the overall structure of the lesson contributed to their creativity. We had Quesadilla Monsters, Bear-Eating fish, and Fainting Goats, trips all around the world looking for lost socks, and teacher-eating wolves that attend our high school. The crazy stories the kids created helped them remember the language functions for each lesson, kept their attention, and had us all laughing "a carcajadas." (vocab word from chapter 6)
4. I will keep close tabs on how the students' writing, speaking, and listening comprehension improves, and give them individual feedback on what I see.
Students write short stories in Spanish all year long. I am able to see the grammar points that need to be readdressed, the concepts that they have down pat, and those that will take some additional practice through their writing. I feel that I addressed class needs well this year, but did not address all the needs of the individuals as well as I should have. I need to take more time next year to work on individual feedback. I correct papers, and highlight errors, I have a few sit down and reteach moments with each kid through the year, but I know there is the need for more. This goal will reappear in the future!
5. I will talk to the kids on a daily basis, even if it is just to see how their weekend went, or to comment on the cool socks they are wearing.
I like talking to my students. They are neat people. I know that I had tons of conversations about everything and nothing. Did I do this with each one of the 150 students? I think so; I really hope so! I do have a lot of "fridge art" this year. Many kids brought me their art projects, and they will be redisplayed in the fall. I had a bunch of, "listen to this cool song" music make its way to my ears. I know the favorite authors of about 40 students, and their favorite gummy candy flavor. I have seen lots of Tom's shoes wearers, and owners of amazing socks, and commented every time. I have a bunch of "Thank you" cards from kids. This doesn't mean that I spoke too all of them on an individual level, though. Making this personal connection is the most important part of the job, and I can't say I have done it 100%.
So, what is next?
I am not going to think about that until August. I have two wonderful children of my own that get Mommy all summer long! We will have adventures and trips to the pool; we'll eat too much ice-cream and soak up all that the Great Northwest has to offer us.
I wish you all a happy and restorative summer!
Posted in Teaching on Jun 18, 2010 - 11:42 AM
The last meeting of the year is just winding down, the walls of the classroom are bare, and there is not a single piece of paper on the floor. It is officially time to start summer, at least for me.My official evaluation was a week ago. I have my copy of it around here somewhere.... Anyway, things went wonderfully according to my vice principal. She was very happy with my performance. That is good, because I need to keep my job. She is happy, and my family has health insurance. My goals for the administration were met.
I do recall that I set different goals for myself, than I turned in for the powers that be. I wrote about my goals in my first post for IDEA. Let's see how I did....
1. I will work to create an atmosphere of personal responsibility, where people are able to express their needs of the curriculum, and get those needs met.
I established a good report with most of my students this year. I will admit that not all the 150 kids in my class were always happy to be there, nor did they decide that Spanish One was the most important class in their schedule, but all but one child passed the class. Students, over all, did participate in class work and story creation. During the final oral, kids were able to express themselves in short sentences, even if their overall score in the class was hovering at 60%. I feel I came close to meeting this goal, though I have room to grow in this area. There is a fine line between cultivating personal responsibility in students, and demanding behavioral standards and actual interest in the lessons. I hope in the future I can focus more on the individual and less on the trappings of a traditional high school class.
2. I will have the kids write personal goals for the class, and have them do self check-ins every grading period, and allow them to adjust their goals based on where they really are, and what they really want to achieve.
Kids did write and revisit goals this year. At the beginning of the year, they all wrote what they believed I wanted to hear. There was a lot of "I will earn an A in this class and study for it every night." As the year wore on, things changed: "I will keep my C and review the vocab once a week." When if became obvious that the goals had nothing to do with me, and all to do with a self check, the product was better and more real. I will continue to have kids write personal goals. I think it is beneficial for all of us.
3. I will place emphasis on what the students can create, and guide them toward higher levels of comprehension, but allow the final product be their own. I don't have a mass produced rubric to assess their products.
The students created some wonderful stories this year! I think that having them choose the presentation method, as well as the overall structure of the lesson contributed to their creativity. We had Quesadilla Monsters, Bear-Eating fish, and Fainting Goats, trips all around the world looking for lost socks, and teacher-eating wolves that attend our high school. The crazy stories the kids created helped them remember the language functions for each lesson, kept their attention, and had us all laughing "a carcajadas." (vocab word from chapter 6)
4. I will keep close tabs on how the students' writing, speaking, and listening comprehension improves, and give them individual feedback on what I see.
Students write short stories in Spanish all year long. I am able to see the grammar points that need to be readdressed, the concepts that they have down pat, and those that will take some additional practice through their writing. I feel that I addressed class needs well this year, but did not address all the needs of the individuals as well as I should have. I need to take more time next year to work on individual feedback. I correct papers, and highlight errors, I have a few sit down and reteach moments with each kid through the year, but I know there is the need for more. This goal will reappear in the future!
5. I will talk to the kids on a daily basis, even if it is just to see how their weekend went, or to comment on the cool socks they are wearing.
I like talking to my students. They are neat people. I know that I had tons of conversations about everything and nothing. Did I do this with each one of the 150 students? I think so; I really hope so! I do have a lot of "fridge art" this year. Many kids brought me their art projects, and they will be redisplayed in the fall. I had a bunch of, "listen to this cool song" music make its way to my ears. I know the favorite authors of about 40 students, and their favorite gummy candy flavor. I have seen lots of Tom's shoes wearers, and owners of amazing socks, and commented every time. I have a bunch of "Thank you" cards from kids. This doesn't mean that I spoke too all of them on an individual level, though. Making this personal connection is the most important part of the job, and I can't say I have done it 100%.
So, what is next?
I am not going to think about that until August. I have two wonderful children of my own that get Mommy all summer long! We will have adventures and trips to the pool; we'll eat too much ice-cream and soak up all that the Great Northwest has to offer us.
I wish you all a happy and restorative summer!
Tags for this entry:
curriculum,
hope,
play,
creativity,
responsibility
Melia Dicker
Jun 21, 2010 - 10:31 AM
Alison, I love that you’re evaluating yourself just as you ask your students to do self progress checks. What stands out to me most is the way you invest time into your relationships with students, knowing what’s important to them and noticing little details about them. The fact that they laugh with you and want to share things with you, like new songs they like, is a significant sign that you’ve met your goals.
Way to go on a successful school year! I hope you enjoy some much-earned R&R this summer.