teacher tales Archives - Spirit of Teaching

June 15, 2023May 29, 2023 Linda Markley

Teacher Evaluations

creating community, Essential questions, i am enough, Introspection, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher evaluation, teacher vulnerability

The other day, my husband and I were talking about teacher evaluations and all the expectations and accountability that are placed on teachers.

His perspective is from the business world and being a manager/administrator who did annual “reviews” of his employees.

First of all, they called them “reviews”, which is perhaps more appealing than “evaluations”.

Evaluation = from the Latin valere meaning to be of value or worth.

Instead of reviewing or taking another view(point) or look at the person’s performance over the past year with the intention of deciding what went well and what needs to change (plus-delta approach)…

…it seems that what administrators are being asked to do is determine what “value” to place on a teacher or decide what that teacher is “worth”.

I prefer a different model for reviewing or evaluating people’s participation and performance in an event called the “plus-delta” approach.

Technically, the “plus-delta” model was designed and developed by the aviation and medical industries as a debriefing system for meetings, simulations and practices.

This approach uses more “improvement” oriented language rather than language that may be considered too negative, judgmental and discouraging.

How could the delta-plus model be better implemented in education, 

especially for teacher evaluations?

(more…)

Teacher Tales #42 – Finding a way, showing up and making accommodations: JoAnne, ESL Bilingual District Supervisor, leader/mentor and educational champion for all

Teacher Tales

Teacher Tales #42 - Finding a way, showing up and making accommodations: JoAnne, ESL Bilingual District Supervisor, leader/mentor and educational champion for all

00:00 / 00:34:59

In this episode, we meet JoAnne, a district supervisor in New Jersey who wears many hats. Originally, JoAnne set out to become a lawyer. However, after working in a refugee center in college, JoAnne became impassioned to become a teacher and champion for ESL bilingual students. She became a mentor, leader and instrument for change. JoAnne realized that she was (just) a piece of a bigger “machine” at work and that she needed to show up and do her part to keep the machine running. She couldn’t control the whole machine, just the piece or part that she was in that machine. JoAnne tells us that this creates real power and a sphere of influence that can make a difference. Also, in a moment of vulnerability, JoAnne shares how an accident left her with a traumatic brain injury and how she had to learn to talk, walk, read and write again. Nonetheless, she doesn’t linger there, but instead shares how this has changed her perspective on learning, how the brain works, communication, accommodations and the power of listening. She also has some great advice about how to best deal with parents, something all teachers could use right now, correct? Enjoy and be sure to tuck those pearls of wisdom away in a safe place where you can find them again when you most need them. Thank you, JoAnne! You are a true inspiration to us all!

Teacher Tales #17 – Coaching, encouraging, problem solving and painting a bigger picture in education: Ginger – Science, teacher consultant and co-founder of a science non-profit

Teacher Tales

Teacher Tales #17 - Coaching, encouraging, problem solving and painting a bigger picture in education: Ginger - Science, teacher consultant and co-founder of a science non-profit

00:00 / 00:36:27

In this episode, we hear from Ginger who tells us that she has been associated with teaching many different subjects like drama, P.E. and science, but that really, she considers herself a teacher of people and that in this role, it was her job to coach and encourage. Ginger says that every subject is important to enriching someone’s life, and that curiosity is key and at the core of learning any subject. We need to give students a learning experience first, and then, the subject or book knowledge. She goes on to explain that STEM is just a way of giving students tools to solve real-world problems, but that those problems can also be solved through the arts as well. Ginger uses a beautiful art metaphor to describe teaching. She says that planning for a learning experience is where we are in our flow as teachers. The classroom is where we have the time and space, which are like our canvas and brush. The different students who come to our classroom are the beautiful paints that we can use to create our work of art, which manifests as their learning. Ginger believes that ALL teachers want to be good teachers, but that we don’t give them enough time and space to reflect and apply their teaching arts and crafts. Teachers give so much to the world, and Ginger is no exception. Check out the non-profit that she co-founded to recognize science teachers and the sacrifices their families make to support the cause of learning and to provide a better education for all children. https://spacecoastscience.org/

Teacher Tales #13 – Awareness of cultural and linguistic diversity in school, joy in math, tough love and life lessons for all: Annie, math teacher from the Philippines, master motivator and baker!

Teacher Tales

Teacher Tales #13 - Awareness of cultural and linguistic diversity in school, joy in math, tough love and life lessons for all: Annie, math teacher from the Philippines, master motivator and baker!

00:00 / 00:44:05

In this episode, we get a chance to meet Annie, a math teacher who is originally from the Philippines. Annie helps us to see different perspectives on learning math, teaching in different countries, contexts and cultures and what it takes to help students become successful in her class and in life. A teacher with a BIG heart, Annie has taught for over 35 years. But still, she finds joy and motivation from her students to show up every day even though she is considered “high risk” in the pandemic. Almost every year, Annie has a 100% pass rate on the AP Calculus exam, which is the hardest AP exam. How does she do it? Listen and find out what her “secret sauce” to teaching is and how she motivates her students. Also, discover the surprise reveal of how she wants to be remembered by her students. Here’s another statistic for Annie: you will be 100% delighted and inspired by this amazing lady!

Teacher Tales #9 – The call to teach, the teaching family and a hero’s journey: Michelle – former student, new teacher and “connectedness” researcher

Teacher Tales

Teacher Tales #9 - The call to teach, the teaching family and a hero's journey: Michelle - former student, new teacher and "connectedness" researcher

00:00 / 00:39:06

In this episode, I talk to Michelle, another former student who answered the calling to become a teacher. Born and raised in a teacher family, Michelle decided early on that she did NOT want to become a teacher. So, she pursued a PhD in psychology. However, a life crisis and a series of unfortunate events led her to finally answer the call to teach that had always been there, but that she had decided as a child to refuse to hear. Like myself and many other teachers I have known, Michelle was now following her true path on the “hero’s journey”, as Joseph Campbell called it…an adventure in teaching that would forever change her and her mission in life. Her first year teaching was at a Title 1 school and in a pandemic, yet, she found herself fully stepping into her calling for something “greater than” herself. She tells us that she decided to invest in children and their education through relationship and connectedness. She didn’t give in, but rather, gave back as much as she could, despite lack of funding, parental support and a landmine of social-emotional-psychological challenges that her students were facing each day. Michelle says that she took for granted how much teachers should be recognized and celebrated for what they do…but not anymore…and she hopes that others will come to realize how precious teachers really are to our culture, our community and our connectedness to each other!

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