Statement by Principal P (barely audible)
As Principal of I.S. 666 I gave Ms. Moriah an unsatisfactory rating because of her:
Lack of lesson planning
Ineffective delivery of lessons
Lack of engaging students
Lack of differentiation to individual needs
Lack of adapting to individual needs
Statement by Assistant Principle Z
During the observation process: preobservation, observation, and postobservation Ms. Moriah has on several occasions not been able to produce lesson plans. She stated to me that they are unnecessary for her. She has been teaching for many years. Therefore, she does not need a written lesson plan. I was asked to meet with her on a weekly basis to review her lesson plans. She did meet with me, and during those weekly meetings, she stated that she herself did not need a copy, Therefore acknowledging that lesson plans were for administrative purposes only and not for her use in class.
Assistant Principle X
It is my supervisory judgement that Ms. Moriah should receive an unsatisfactory rating for the following reasons:
1. Lesson planning. I went into her classroom and asked her for her lesson plan and she did not have one. And she told me she would give it to me the next period.
2. I observed an unsatisfactory lesson.
5 comments:
I find it unbelievable that teacher would say to an adminstrator that he or she does not have a lesson plan. YOU MUST HAVE A LESSON PLAN!
Anyway they lie they lie!!!
The principal wants it on the desk. Every day. Do you have a lesson plan when you are giving a midterm? When you are traveling from room to room, do you ALWAYS have your plan book, or is it sometimes at home, in your locker, in your bookbag, etc. Do you always need to have your plan book? Are there lessons that are so simple or so familiar that all you need to do is write the Objective and the rest is as automatic as cooking your favorite recipe ?(Do you always have your recipe book when cooking your favorite recipe?)
For my principal, if I don't have a detailed, typwritten lesson plan available on the desk when she comes in I get "written up" as not having a lesson plan. If she comes in and finds a plan she doesn't acknowledge it.
I have opted for posting my lesson plans online. The plan can't get lost and I have proof that I did plan because of the posting dates.
I can't link the two sites, because they are now involving children in their smear campaign. I am trying to keep the kids annonymous, by withholding the school's name.
I have been following your blog for some time now. Being a longtime teacher, I do many lessons without consulting my lesson plan book. I know the targets, benchmarks, etc. However, knowing that your administration has been doing everything in its power to find something unacceptable about your performance, you should make yourself untouchable. If the principal wants the plan book on the desk, put the plan book on the desk. You have bigger battles to fight with your administration than to get caught up in petty battles.
You are right of course. It is a moot point now because I post all my lessons on a blog like this one. If for some reason I lose my lesson of the day, I reprint it.
However, I believe that my principal is violating the contract by insisting on having the lesson plan available to her at a moment's notice. This is not a petty battle. We are not in the Army. We should not be subjected to surprise inspections while we are teaching. The contract clearly states that the lesson plan is for the teacher's use. That clause was put in the contract because principals were using lesson plans as a means to punish and harrass. What good is the contract if the principal can do what she pleases anyway?????
Did your UFT adviser ask the principal to file a copy of the school district's written policies and procedures as to what constitutes a "satisfactory" lesson? Similarly, to file a copy of the school district's written policies and procedures concerning the methods for conducting the annual professional performance review?
If not, why not?
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