Educational Issue: Teacher Evaluation

            The presentation done of teacher evaluation and the paper were both very interesting. I really enjoyed the paper and the way in which it was written. It made it very intriguing and entertaining to read, which is what made me feel as though I obtained more information from it. For instance, federal requirements have made it so there are more teacher evaluations. I feel as though in ways this could be beneficial and not. It is beneficial because teachers are given more feedback and opportunity to be evaluated numerous times, meaning that the chance of improvement is much higher. Also, this gives more examples of ones teaching, which can be helpful when it comes to terminating jobs. However, one has to make sure they are following the guidelines, which is important in the evaluation. One must also make sure to constantly be working towards improvement though this should always be a goal.

            Another aspect I found interesting was the idea of self-awareness and self-assessment. I feel as though evaluation is important in many different ways. I feel as though as mentioned at the end of the presentation, having multiple means of evaluations helps in the best results. I want to have multiple ways of being evaluated even if this is not something the school system comes up with. I believe my students should have the ability to evaluate me, much like we do with our professors here at the end of a semester. I want to give them opportunity to critique my teaching and projects because I want to interest my students. The only way in which this can be done is through asking their opinion. I also wish to ask a colleagues opinion on occasion because I want to know that what I am doing is good especially in my first years. Also, it is nice to have a mentor or someone to turn to to evaluate your class when you see an area that needs improvement. As a human being, I have accepted the fact that I am not perfect. This unfortunately means that there will be areas in which I need to improve. This is one reason why I need to be open to teacher evaluation because it is better for my teaching, my classroom, and my students’ education, which is important. I need to take what is said into consideration and remember everyone continues to grow.  I am hoping this will make me more open to criticism.

            Speaking of criticism, though I know parents are not really trained for evaluations, I would like to also have their input in some ways. This group had mentioned this possibility in their presentation and I found it interesting. I believe that we should have multiple types of evaluators and parents happen to be one of these. I feel as though evaluation is crucial because it helps one grow as a learner and educator. I only hope that this all will have positive effects on the teacher and classroom, because according to this group it can go different ways. This is what is being used, so it needs to be implemented in positive ways. These are my views on teaching evaluations and such.