1/26/07

I am trying something new with my kids today. It’s working so far, but it’s only 10:30. They have the chance to earn five minutes of recess during every subject today. If they are participating, well behaved, etc. then at the end of the period I will add five to the total on the board. At the end of the day I am going to give them a recess using however many minutes they earned. They don’t usually get a recess at that time, and they seem pretty pumped about it. Here’s hoping…..

I got my formal teaching evaluation from my principal yesterday. It wasn’t nearly as good as last year’s, but I guess can’t compare them because they were based on two separate scales and principals. I got a mark that I need improvement in my church involvement. I took major offense to that. He told me that I don’t attend Thursday morning staff communion, which is totally false.  He also said that outside of my teaching I am not involved in any church committees. That one is true, but I spend the majority of my life here as it is. I have to put time and effort into my relationship with Will, and I do a lot of ministry stuff with him. He gave me avarage marks in embracing the mission and vision of the school.  Isn’t that what I did when I took on teaching a grade I didn’t even want? Wasn’t that embracing the vision of the school? He also said I use to much of a text book based approach. I somewhat disagree with that comment, but if I do use the textbook approach, it’s only because I am doing fourth grade curriculum for the first time. How am I supposed to just magically know what concepts are to be taught/mastered in fourth grade?! Sadly, the evaluation reaffirmed what I already feel about myself as a teacher this year–not good enough. The only area where I got really high marks was positive student-teacher and parent-teacher relationships.

So I was so upset last night about the whole evaluation, and on top of that stress from everything in life caused the bulimia stuff to rear it’s ugly head.  Will and I talked–he was awesomely supportive.

This morning I got  a letter from one of the parents in my class telling me how much they appreciate me as a teacher, and that they wish I could move on to fifth grade with their son. Just what I needed.