Not enough rigor

[MrsWok]

Today I had a scheduled post-obs meeting. The paperwork came back with a good rating...close to highly effective. After my observation, I had to send in my DRA scores. Many of my students did not meet the benchmark. After my principal saw them, he brought up at the meeting that he wants to see more rigor in the classroom and higher expectations. I am a non-tenured teacher and he brought up that the kindergarten class coming in is challenging and he is considering my placement. He did not give any specific advice...just more rigor. I'm not sure he even knows what that means.

My heart is crushed. I put my heart and soul into my class. They are very academically low. 2 or 3 of them are on their way to probably being classified and 6 of them are ENL. I feel like I'm being punished because of the challenging class I was given. Any tips or advice?

 

[all41]

I am sorry you are feeling so frustrated with this situation. Not to make light of your feelings, but this is what most, if not every evaluation will probably feel like. It is impossible for principals to evaluate a teacher as perfect because there is always something to improve on and blah blah blah. So much of what we deal with is out of our control; student language, learning challenges or disabilities, home situations, and so on. If your evaluations are good otherwise, as you say they are, maybe the principal is just looking at the information he has about next year's class and feels a more experienced teacher might be a better choice or maybe he feels you might do well at another grade level. Principals have a lot of information and insight into what is coming up next year and/or what is going on in different class or grade levels that you don't have. I expect he is looking at those things so try not to worry.

 

[MrsWok]

Thanks for your response. This is actually my 4th observation with him and all of the others were very positive. He's never ever given me any feedback. I guess that's why this was harder to hear. I wasn't expecting any criticism since he is always super positive and laidback. My team teacher chatted with him after and told me that he gets a different vibe when he comes into my classroom than he does with hers. That hurt. She's a veteran teacher teaching for close to 25 years! Sucks being compared to people like that. I just feel like I'm not good at what I do now...

 

[Zia]

I would sit down with him and go over the individual DRA scores.

"This kid is reading an A, but she came in only knowing 6 UP letters, 0 LC letters and 0 letter sounds. Reading an A is actually good growth for this kid."

"This kid read a DRA 1, but is diagnosed ADD and started school only knowing blah blah and so this is good progress."

"This kid read a DRA 2, but started the year fighting, being disruptive and non-compliant, which slowed his progress. My classroom management skills got him in line and he is now on track for meeting expectations by the end of the year."

"This kid is ESL but I've been doing sheltered instruction and using Avenues with fidelity and reading a DRA 2 is actually amazing progress for this child."

And so on. Make him SEE why these DRA scores, though below arbitrary expectations, actually demonstrate really good growth for these individual kids.

Show him you KNOW your kids, you know where they were and where they are heading academically and WHY and what you plan to do to maximize their progress. A good P will listen.

So far as this goes:

My team teacher chatted with him after and told me that he gets a different vibe when he comes into my classroom than he does with hers. That hurt. She's a veteran teacher teaching for close to 25 years! Sucks being compared to people like that.

You don't know that he considers the vibe in her classroom to be superior. All you know is it is different. And I think it's pretty crap for the teacher to have told you. Also...you don't know if that is even true.

 

[Sbkangas5]

I like the suggestion of showing the growth in your students. And if you aren't clear on what he means about rigor, just ask. He probably doesn't.

I tried not to laugh when my p's suggestion was that my independent activities be more rigorous. This was in November of kindergarten, and one of the independent activities was writing four complete sentences on their own. The other was making a calendar that included writing to 30. It doesn't get much more rigorous than that at that point in the year! He doesn't have a clue...

I also wouldn't take the "vibe" comment to heart. He should get a different vibe - you are two different teachers with two different sets of students. That doesn't mean you are doing anything wrong.

 

[GreyhoundGirl]

If he can't give you specific examples then I wouldn't stress too much.

I've made no secret of the fact that I love my 2 team mates but we are 3 of the most oppose it's teachers you'll ever meet. Any one walking in would get a different vibe walking into all of our rooms. They're not better or worse, they're just different. Your team mate was not being supportive. I would ignore her comment.

 

[ElizabethJoy]

ECgen's advice is good. Growth is what matters, not arbitrary benchmarks. Excepting when a child's attendance is very low or there are other major dramas, growth is a much fairer measure of teacher effectiveness than benchmarking.

Try not to feel too down, since you've had mostly positive feedback you must be doing a good job!

 

[MrsWok]

Thanks everybody. Great advice. I feel better now. I dont think my teammate tried to make me feel bad. When she asked for tips on what she could do to support me thats what his response was. We are totally opposite teachers. Im quieter and shes sing songy. I think Im still gaining confidence even with my students. Unfortunately being compared and critqued like that only makes me feel worse and less confident. Im not feeling supported by him right now.

 

[elmo33]

sorry...

I have been there...I know how you feel.. do you if someone complained about something or a parent from your class might have compared yours to the other class?
Sometimes a comment from a parent makes them worried when things are actually going fine....

 

[Zia]

When she asked for tips on what she could do to support me thats what his response was. We are totally opposite teachers.

Maybe...he made that vibe comment meaning she can't be much help because your styles are so different? I would ignore it.

 

[MrsWok]

Maybe. Thanks for the responses. This is affecting me so much. I don't think administrators realize the impact these comments make on us. Teaching is my whole life and when I hear I'm not doing well, I just feel awful.

 

[Zia]

Well, if you can't let it go, maybe go talk to your P. Explain it is really bothering you and you would like him to elaborate so you can process it effectively. Mine would listen and be reassuring. Comments taken out of context can be perceived inaccurately. Give him a chance to explain.

 

[MrsWok]

Thanks ECGen, that's a good idea. I plan on talking to him on Monday. I appreciate the advice.

 

[Munchkins]

Yes, ask for specifics!

Something that jumped out at me is that this is your first observation where you were given suggestions. Our P is our instructional leader, and it's his responsibility to help us all grow, no matter how much experience we have or where we are in our teaching. Maybe his supervisor criticized HIM for not giving effective feedback.

I've agonized over sentences in evaluations, and most of them I was misinterpreting, and my P reworded or took them out for me. (I can be a bit high maintenance!). But taking his words that are making you uncomfortable and asking for specific examples/directions on how to improve is a great idea. If he can direct you, great. If not, let it go. All out classrooms have different vibes because we're different people. You need to be yourself, but there's always room to grow. I say once I think I know all there is to know about teaching, it's time for me to retire. I put my ego aside long ago, and I welcome ways to refine my craft.

Good luck- keep us posted!

 

[MrsWok]

Munchkins - I think you're exactly right! He has never ever given me criticism. Always just says "good job " "you're a strong teacher " "keep it up." It's nice to always hear that but it makes it much harder when you finally hear criticism. Everybody loves him because of how laid back he is. Now he's on the opposite side and didn't say one positive thing about my lesson in person (but on paper he did). We are getting a new superintendent and I wonder if he is just trying to up his game before his new boss is in.

I've thought a lot about this over the weekend. Probably obsessed over it a little bit. Tomorrow I plan on writing down what I heard him say that I needed to work on and asking him for 1 or 2 specific things in each area he would like to see.

Reminding myself to have a growth mindset! I am not the best teacher in my school but I am working harder to be the best teacher I can be.

 

[MrsWok]

Thank you everybody for helping me through this. I stopped in to see my principal this morning right away. I told him that I was feeling a little discouraged and that I went home upset. He apologized and said that wasn't his intention. He told me he wants to see the students having more discussion and showing their thinking. I told him I would work on it and thanked him for the feedback and then we just started chatting about other things. I can officially let this go.

Thank you so much everybody for making me feel better. I love this forum!

 

[Zia]

Oh thank you for updating! I'm glad it was no big deal.

 

[jorgefuriouso]

Specifics and Exemplars!

My understanding is that many teacher eval systems have built-in teaching modules that administrators are supposed to assign for those teachers who need help in any area.

You should ask about this. Perhaps your district isn't using this type of system, but admin might be able to direct you to an instructional supervisor or master teacher who might have some ideas for you.

Imagine if you told a parent, "Yes, Johnny needs help with letter sounds. I don't know which ones, or even how to help him, but yeah... he needs help with that."