Dodge
You know what comes with teaching experience?
Improved eyesight.
Even when you've only been at this for going on two years, you can start to spot an ADEPT person coming close-by. I happened to glance past one of mine eating lunch in the teacher work room as I was taking my kids to lunch. Naturally, I assumed she was headed to my room when it was over.
I don't know why this is after so many evaluations, mostly by my Furman supervisor (Dr. Thomas) and my district mentor (Klase Gillespie), but I still get mighty nervous whenever I get observed. I can't explain it.
Maybe it's the underlying knowledge that the person seated in the back of the room has the real power for 50-something minutes and no one knows it but you. That with one major screw-up, it could go badly for you. And the worse part is, you won't know how bad until several days later.
Anyway, I scrambled to have my room ready for 4th period. I mean as close to tip-top shape as it could be. And ... she never came.
So I thought, "well, she's observing the Social Studies teacher up the hall. So she's bound to pay me a visit during 6th period."
Normally, with an entire planning period at my disposal, it would've been cake to set up for her visit. Today wasn't exactly normal. We had a parent-teacher conference. And this was one of the few meetings that take up practically your whole hour of planning time. Toward about 1:50 or so I start eye-balling the desk clock, mourning every precious second I was losing to get things set.
Thankfully, I was left with a few minutes. Just enough to set out copies of Chasing Vermeer and get the desks in order. And today, I even lined my sometimes-rowdy 6th period out in the hall to remind them of procedures for coming in and getting on task. It worked beautifully. Quietest 6th period I've had in a long time. But ... she never came.
Whatever irritation I might have felt was lost quickly because I had to run an errand to Furman and get back to the Y in time for a workout. Still, I know my wily ADEPT person is out there, and if I'm not on my toes, she's bound to catch me off guard.
(Of course, I'm exaggerating for dramatic effect. It's fun to make light of my own nervousness, as silly as it may be).
Improved eyesight.
Even when you've only been at this for going on two years, you can start to spot an ADEPT person coming close-by. I happened to glance past one of mine eating lunch in the teacher work room as I was taking my kids to lunch. Naturally, I assumed she was headed to my room when it was over.
I don't know why this is after so many evaluations, mostly by my Furman supervisor (Dr. Thomas) and my district mentor (Klase Gillespie), but I still get mighty nervous whenever I get observed. I can't explain it.
Maybe it's the underlying knowledge that the person seated in the back of the room has the real power for 50-something minutes and no one knows it but you. That with one major screw-up, it could go badly for you. And the worse part is, you won't know how bad until several days later.
Anyway, I scrambled to have my room ready for 4th period. I mean as close to tip-top shape as it could be. And ... she never came.
So I thought, "well, she's observing the Social Studies teacher up the hall. So she's bound to pay me a visit during 6th period."
Normally, with an entire planning period at my disposal, it would've been cake to set up for her visit. Today wasn't exactly normal. We had a parent-teacher conference. And this was one of the few meetings that take up practically your whole hour of planning time. Toward about 1:50 or so I start eye-balling the desk clock, mourning every precious second I was losing to get things set.
Thankfully, I was left with a few minutes. Just enough to set out copies of Chasing Vermeer and get the desks in order. And today, I even lined my sometimes-rowdy 6th period out in the hall to remind them of procedures for coming in and getting on task. It worked beautifully. Quietest 6th period I've had in a long time. But ... she never came.
Whatever irritation I might have felt was lost quickly because I had to run an errand to Furman and get back to the Y in time for a workout. Still, I know my wily ADEPT person is out there, and if I'm not on my toes, she's bound to catch me off guard.
(Of course, I'm exaggerating for dramatic effect. It's fun to make light of my own nervousness, as silly as it may be).
posted by david @ 5:11 PM
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