All Eyes On Me

1, 2, 3… So many people are observing me. As a new teacher, my supervisor needs to formally observe me 4 times. That doesn’t count any informal observations. As a NYCT fellow and masters candidate, my consultant/professor/advisor also needs to observe me (twice a month). And, lastly, my principal needs to observe me at least once. I feel like a window display.

And then in a few weeks we have the Quality Review people coming. I agree with Ms. M that these things should be a surprise – observations included – to keep people on their toes and not simply preparing a scripted performance. When I was a TV producer, you weren’t “observed” in the way teachers are, but you were constantly in the line of fire — at any minute, you would need to track down key information about a trial, get a high-profile attorney on the phone, or be aware of any upcoming hearings that might be newsworthy. You and your work were always on display, and if you messed up, millions of viewers would see your mistakes. Maybe your name wouldn’t be attached to it for the audience, (or sometimes it is, as with Dan Rather), but the people who held the ax over your head certainly knew who was responsible. Why is it any different for teachers?

Motto: You Are On Your Own

A friend of mine, also from the NYC Teaching Fellows, was recently hired at a struggling elementary school in Manhattan. She is the only ESL teacher there because the other one quit about a month ago for “personal” reasons or some such. I doubt it was personal. It’s nearly December and the school still doesn’t know who their ELLs are. Have they not tested them? Or what? They told my friend she could “start teaching tomorrow!” but she has no students, no classroom (she’s a push-in) and nowhere to even hang her coat!

My school is far better organized and disciplined; they have one person responsible for testing all new ELLs. They have ten ESL teachers, including myself, most of whom have decades of experience and genuinely care about the students. There are areas where it needs to grow, too, of course.but this school is actually a great environment for ELLs and new teachers like myself because of all the support.

But one thing is sorely lacking. An ESL curriculum. My understanding is most schools don’t have one. So teachers end up creating their own lesson plans from scratch, although the veterans have years worth of chart tablets filled with lessons. This may be good for inviting creativity from the teachers, but there’s no real way to offer the students a comprehensive, “equal” education where every student is judged by the same goals and criteria. The main goal seems to be to get the reading on level, as determined by the Fountas & Pinnell reading levels.

If you’re reading this and are a teacher, does your school have an ESL curriculum? What are your thoughts on it?