Oops I did it again.
Last year I was observed four times by my principal and
assistant principal. In NYC we get to choose from
a small menu of options outlining when and how we can be officially observed. My administration suggested that we choose three
informal and one formal observation. For
the informals they can come in at any time and stay for about 15
minutes. For the formal, you know when
they’re coming and you meet with them before the observation to review the
lesson you are going to teach. Observations have always been a thing but, before
Charlotte Danielson came into our lives, months and months (and sometimes an
entire school year) could go by without an admin stepping foot in your
room. Those days are over. And that’s OK. We all want to get better at what we do,
right? If used properly, these observations to be a really powerful tool to
improve practice. At least that’s what I tell myself every time they walk in
the room.
So, last year my principal came in for my first observation
in my new school. I am fairly confidant
in the classroom but as soon as she came in I felt the butterflies kick into
action. I went on with what I thought
was a lovely lesson. Not a bad day for
her to walk in (as opposed to those days where you got two hours of sleep the
night before and you are having the kids do practice questions all period while
you sit and pray that no one comes in). This observation happened sometime
during third period, which ends at 9:57.
Fourth period ends at 10:44. Why
this is relevant will become apparent shortly.
So, the principal’s in my classroom and I’m doing my
thing. I keep checking the clock to make
sure I get to the closing before the bell rings. The kids are working, I working with them and
all is going well. I do my closing, the kids pack up to go and I think I’ve
totally nailed it. Then it happens. I
hear this from one of the students in the back of the room:
“Ms. Cimini, we still have 15 minutes”.
Crap.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
The butterflies in my stomach were apparently totally
messing with me. In my head, third
period ended at 9:44. I had gotten the
periods mixed up. I dismissed the class 15 minutes early while the principal
was sitting in the room. Fantastic. I had to quickly gather them back and
scramble to find something to fill the last fifteen minutes of class. I thought
I was going to vomit.
After class, my principal and I sat down to debrief the
lesson and she was laughing. Thankfully,
she saw the humor in my monumental frak up and all as forgiven. Every time she came into the room from that
point forward I kept super careful track of the time.
Fast forward to last Friday.
Halfway through one of the periods my principal and AP come in to
observe my co-teacher and myself. This
was another one of those informal observations so we had no idea they were
coming. They walked in and I didn’t even notice they were there for the first
few minutes because I was working with kids (points for me!!!). The lesson was
going great. The kids were engaged, they
could speak coherently about they were doing and they were even
self-assessing. Best observation ever! After
about fifteen minutes of the observation, the period was drawing to a close so I had the students wrap up
their work, did my closing exercise and dismissed the kids.
“Ms. Cimini? There’s still ten minutes of class”, peeps one
of the kids from the back of the room.
Crap.
I did it again.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
Three adults in the room and not one of them told me!!! Not
even my co-teacher who must have been monumentally confused as to why I was letting the students go 10 minutes early.
And in the back of the room my principal and AP are cracking
up because I did it again.
At the end of class we laughed about it (thankfully) and I
swore up and down that I never do that when they aren’t in class. And it’s true. I never dismiss classes at the
wrong time. Unless my principal happens
to be standing in the room.
I haven’t gotten the feedback yet from that observation but
my fingers are crossed that she is still laughing about it!
So, the moral of the story? Make a huge poster stating period end times and hope that your principal has a sense of humor. And a big thank you to my principal for yours!!
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