Eddie Espinosa EDU 610

December 12, 2015 Prof. Gerald Kleinman

The evaluation process is quite extensive and is full of various legal and personal nuances

that must be followed in order to avoid headaches in the daily workday, not to mention the

possibility of strained working relationships, grievances or even worse, litigation. In the years

that I have been an evaluating assistant principal, I feel that I have made growth from my first

year to this, my fourth. I must say that being on this side of the evaluation process has been quite

a different experience for me from the days that I would worry and stress over my principal

coming into my classroom to observe me. Needless to say, there have been many challenges that

I needed to face and overcome in order to become a good administrator.

First of all, the one of the biggest challenges that I had in my first year was my own

apprehension about the entire process. The questions I had were endless. Am I doing this

correctly? How can I possibly write down everything that is going on and being said? Aw, man.

I missed that! What did she say? I was thrown into the deep end without any floaties. I was

taught that the best way to go into an observation was to write down everything (literally) and

then go back to your office as quickly as possible and recapture the lesson on the observation

form. This was very difficult to accomplish in light of the fact that on the walk from the

classroom to my office, I would be apprehended (accosted might be a better choice of word) by a

teacher, an administrator, a student or an angry parent with whatever they may have felt was the

emergency of the moment for them. Then, came the task of filling out the form. Imagine trying

to decipher the scribbling from trying to catch every bit of the activity that was going on in the

classroom earlier. A near impossible task! That was my first few observations. I quickly learned

to go into the classroom with the observation forms heading with the teachers name, subject

taught, standards and objectives already filled out. This allowed me to type into the appropriate

section the activity that was going on. I could even type the teachers memorable quotes and
Eddie Espinosa EDU 610
December 12, 2015 Prof. Gerald Kleinman
student interactions. This changed everything for me. Thank God for the invention of the laptop.

Next, I was challenged by how I could evaluate a teacher without creating an unpleasant

working environment for the teacher or me in the event that I would have to bring up a parents

complaint or if I saw an area that needed improvement in that teachers pedagogy. I realized that

the most important factor was to earn the staffs trust by ensuring that they knew that my goal

was to come along side them to help or assist them as opposed to looking to see what they are

doing wrong. I make it a point to encourage and pass on to the principal what a great job they

are doing when they are excelling in a particular area. Later, when the principal mentions to

them that I told him that he should see their fantastic lesson, they learn that Im there to help

them. Of course, this helps when I do have to bring any type of correction or give advice for

improvement. They know that Im my goal is to make them into a better teacher. The staff

realizes that Im on their team. Following this model helps to calm the nerves of the teacher that

is being evaluated and has proven to be beneficial when pointing out an area that needs

improvement. I have had many very difficult conversations with teachers over the last three and

a half years. In that time, I have had teachers that I had to write up actually thank me because

they knew that I was trying to help them stay out of further trouble and/or even dismissal if they

didnt change their practices. The analogy that I try to use is that when Im doing something

positive for a teacher, e.g. encouraging, covering the class for them when they need a break,

helping them to carry things to their cars, etc. Im depositing checks. When (or if) I need to

bring some sort of constructive criticism, thats the time when I need to cash a check. I have to

make sure that Ive deposited enough funds to cover the amount of the check. What I thought

would be my biggest challenge, has actually become a very positive part of my job.