Observed by the Principal

Today I had a visitor. The high school principal sat in on today’s lesson. It is part of his job to observe and evaluate each tenured teacher twice a year. New teachers are observed more often. After the observation, an evaluation is prepared and presented to the teacher. It becomes part of the teacher’s permanent file and if the rating is poor, steps are taken to bring about some improvement.

I remember my first observation at Weatherly Jr.-Sr. High School. I was twenty and several of my students were my age. It was done by a representative from the county rather than the district and it was a disaster. The students put on an obvious act for the observer. I had been hired in January to teach six math classes, all different. (I was the fourth teach that year. The first three all walked away.) She observed my 11th grade, general math class. It was near the end of the year and I was losing control of this particular class. I was even considering quitting and joining the army, even though those were the days of the Vietnam buildup.

But I survived and the following year was experienced and teaching science classes. The same person observed me in November and gave me a superior rating and I have survived almost 80 formal evaluations with all satisfactories and aboves by at least twelve different administrators in my 38+ years in four different districts.

I have always wondered about the procedure universally followed by administrators. The teacher is given advance notice of up to a month as to the date of the observation. Then a preobservation meeting is held with the planned lesson being reviewed. Afterwards, the administrator observes the lesson and does a written report for “the file”. It is a little bit like college, where a lesson is prepared that will impress the administrator and keep everybody happy. If the teacher “screws up” with all of that advance notice, he/she definitely needs help.

Some of us experienced teachers don’t worry about doing anything special for the observation. We know we are observed everyday by over 120 observers who really matter- our students. We do a “show” for them everyday. The principal is just another body among many.

I have always believed the principal needs to drop in at random to do observations. Then he will really know what is going on in a classroom. Of course the principal needs to observe with several goals in mind: give a pat on the back for good things, a kick in the ass for bad things, and be a resource to help the teacher improve.

Every teacher can always benefit from helpful input from any observer. The problem is, however, that teachers are by and large the most insecure people around when it comes to a feeling of job security. If the principal is a rare visitor to the classroom and only points out negative aspects of the teaching techniques, then the teacher will develop fear toward the principal and be one “unhappy camper”. The “drop in” observations take on the aspect of harassment. But handled properly (in a helpful and positive manner), they are more effective than the “dog and pony” show the principal usually gets to see and no teacher will feel threatened.

By the way, my evaluation was exemplary and I believe he enjoyed the two oxygen production demos I did for my first period chemistry class.