Re: Bullying through teacher evaluation

Lynde

Posted on 12/30/10

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Don't these employees of the school have anything better to
do with their on-duty time than to worry about the
perfection of the teachers? Me thinks they need some more
paper-work to push.

On 12/30/10, Lynde wrote:
> This is INSANE! How dare these so-called administrators
> treat ANYBODY this
> way, much less professional teachers? Who do they think
> they are? And more importantly, who's training these
> yahoos? Being an administrator means by definition that
> you administer programs for the best interests of the
> mission. What part of this do these idiots not get? No
> wonder teachers are dropping out--I know teachers in my
> district that would rather sling burgers at McD's than
> to teach anymore--it's just not fun anymore. And my
> school is relatively speaking honorable and competent.
>
>
>
> On 12/19/10, one more suggestion wrote:
>> make sure you are giving students some kind of bell
>> work assignment - a simple task they have to complete
>> as soon as they enter the room, and that you are
>> grading it. that will motivate them to get started
>> quickly. another thing I do is to use a timer and let
>> the students know "you have X minutes, the timer
>> is on." i don't like it, it feels regimented and
>> is not my style at all, but when the administration
>> is picking you apart you have to protect yourself. I
>> also told my students that they were not allowed
>> under any circumstances to get out of their seats
>> without permission - ridiculous. But I was dinged for
>> "three students out of their seats" during
>> my last evaluation. Actually I told them they could
>> get up to get a tissue without requesting permission,
>> but for no other reason. And these are middle school
>> kids who often have a hard time sitting. It's just
>> stupid - if it isn't disrupting anything to let them
>> walk to the trash can, what is the problem? Sometimes
>> the request is more disruptive than the behavior. But
>> I'm not allowed to make that call. :(
>>
>> On 12/19/10, happening to me, too wrote:
>>> Cosmo,
>>>
>>> I'm a tenured teacher but this is my first year at
>>> a new school and I'm having similar problems. Does
>>> your district have a published rubric for teaching
>>> standards/evaluations? I wrote a response to my
>>> evaluation in which I took apart the admin's
>>> evaluation by using her own observations to show
>>> that I met the rubric for "basic" or
>>> higher performance. If you are allowed to attach a
>>> response to the evaluation you need to do so. In my
>>> district you only have 10 working days to make your
>>> response. My admin actually told me in the
>>> post-eval conference that she feels that
>>> performance that meets "basic" standards
>>> still merits a "needs improvement"
>>> rating! I took my response to the union, and they
>>> are preparing to take it to the director of HR with
>>> a request for an investigation, reconsideration of
>>> the "needs improvement" rating, an
>>> outside evaluator for all future observations, and
>>> that the admin be retrained on how to do
>>> evaluations. This hasn't happened yet, and I'm sure
>>> that when the admin finds out about it things are
>>> going to get even worse. Obviously I have no way of
>>> knowing how much success the union is going to
>>> have. Unfortunately, what choice do I have? Like
>>> your admin, mine is trying to ruin my career.
>>>
>>> If your district has these rubrics, you need to get
>>> them and study them carefully. If you have a
>>> pre-observation conference, bring the rubrics and
>>> ask your admin to indicate exactly what they need
>>> to see for you to meet expectations. Also find out
>>> if you can have another teacher present during the
>>> observation, it's always good to have a witness.
>>> Can you videotape your observation lesson? That can
>>> also be very helpful.
>>>
>>> Likewise, read your contract carefully and make
>>> sure you understand all of the language regarding
>>> evaluations. If you have any questions, go back to
>>> your union. If they can't or won't help you, talk
>>> to a lawyer now, before the next observation so you
>>> are sure you know your rights.
>>>
>>> Does your school have a union building rep? If so,
>>> talk to them ASAP. See if you can do a survey of
>>> the staff regarding evaluation practices (can be
>>> done anonymously) that may show if you are being
>>> singled out, or if they are doing this to many
>>> teachers - either way it is good information to
>>> have.
>>>
>>> I'm sorry that it's true that you may not get
>>> re-elected next year; even if your next evaluations
>>> are stellar they can punt you for no reason at all.
>>> With this in mind, it is very important that you
>>> establish your own paper trail. I can't emphasize
>>> this enough. If the admins do informal walk-through
>>> observations make sure you document each and every
>>> time they come in and what the class was doing when
>>> they were there. CYA!
>>>
>>> Stay strong, and know that you are not alone. This
>>> is happening to many teachers in many districts.
>>> Best of luck to you!
>>>
>>> On 12/19/10, Cosmo wrote:
>>>> Thank you for your thoughtful responses. I have
>>>> been offered an additional evaluation (same
>>>> administrator) to correct the areas of "not
>>>> meeting standards" from the previous
>>>> evaluation. I did speak with union reps from the
>>>> local and statewide unions and was told that as a
>>>> probationary teacher in California I am an
>>>> "at will" employee, meaning that they
>>>> don't have to have a reason to non- reelect a
>>>> person. Given these conditions, they suggested
>>>> that I do all I can to endear myself to
>>>> administration and hope for the best. Hopefully,
>>>> the second evaluation will be met with a higher
>>>> rating. If not, I will pursue legal counsel.
>>>> Incidentally, I learned from a colleague at the
>>>> school that other teachers had gotten downgraded
>>>> for the 3 minute infraction (by other
>>>> administrators) which leads me to believe that
>>>> the issue may be more systemic in nature. Some
>>>> conclude that these kind of negative evaluations
>>>> are deliberate, preemptive strikes to establish a
>>>> paper trail in case they want to get rid of a
>>>> teacher down the road. Thanks again, Cosmo
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> How sad and unfortunate, but how very typical.
>>>> "Leadership" in
>>>>> the public schools has taken a nose dive during
>>>>> the last
>>>> several
>>>>> years. Too many administrators have no grasp of
>>>>> what it
>>>> is to
>>>>> be in the classroom, most probably because they
>>>>> haven't been there themselves in eons or became
>>>>> administrators after only a year or two as a
>>>>> teacher. That last scenario is becoming
>>>> more
>>>>> and more commonplace in North Carolina. So many
>>>>> young teachers come south to teach in our
>>>>> schools, find the pay is terrible or the
>>>>> working conditions unfavorable, and they go
>>>>> into administration after a very short time in
>>>>> the "trenches."
>>>> They
>>>>> lack both the classroom experience and the life
>>>>> experience to really be competent.
>>>>>
>>>>> I would ask the same question that the poster
>>>>> before me did. Do you belong to a union or a
>>>>> teacher association? If you do and it is an
>>>>> effective organization (unlike our useless
>>>>> NCAE), then they should be able to help you in
>>>>> this matter. This administrator is clearly out
>>>>> of bounds on this, particularly if you can
>>>>> counter what they said with evidence and/or
>>>>> artifacts that refute the evaluation. It would
>>>>> seem to me that you have real cause for legal
>>>>> action if this puts your job security in
>>>>> jeopardy

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