Teachers, this quick message is to let you know that our students will soon be answering a short questionnaire evaluating your work in the classroom, based on the following points:

*The teacher has his/her classes adequately prepared and organized?

*The teacher promotes analysis and guided discussion of the class topics?

*Are the explanations and exercises sufficient for you to understand and apply the topics seen in class?

*Does the teacher treat students cordially and complements his/her teaching by being a good role model?

*Have you learned the topics this teacher has taught you?

*If you didn’t get better grades in this class it was because:

a) I didn’t try hard enough.

b) I don’t like the subject.

c) I can’t understand the teacher.

*What do you like about the teachers work?

*What do you think need to be better?

*Would you like to take another subject with him/her?

*1-10, grade the teacher.

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I AM NERVOUS!

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I’ve been teaching for maaany years now and evaluation after evaluation my problem has always been with discipline… the lack of strict, stay-in-your-seat, be quiet kind of discipline… and I have no excuse just the freaking fact that I can’t seem to match up silence and stillness with a creative environment…

Another thing that makes me nervous is that my class isn’t about facts or numbers it’s about acquiring an ability and you don’t know if you didn’t get it until you try to do it and you can’t, and even then, you know you didn’t do well because at least you learned to appreciate a well written text…

You see, I will be evaluated for my Writing Workshop where I am a teacher, yes, but I am more of a guide and only practice will give results; so for the students to know if what I taught them got through they will have to write essays on a daily basis or research papers… and what about those who absolutely dislike writing but still manage to do it to pass, they practiced just enough to make the grade, but did the info, process, structure, grammar STICK?

It really makes me self-evaluate… and admit to myself that not everyone likes to write, not everyone is willing to give it a chance in hopes that it might spark a beautiful light in them towards another means of self-expression…

Anyway, it’s no use worrying about what and how I’ve done things in the classroom and I should remind myself that the result, whatever it may be is a learning opportunity for me, a very good reason to rethink my strategy in selling the wonderful art of writing to teenagers. No biggy

As for my other workshop… jeje, I like naming my classes WORKSHOPS, I imagine myself in my painting shirt creating great things with my students… back to reality… my Creativity Workshop will not be evaluated, jejejee, of course my efforts there do not worry me, and I’ll show you why with the latest project:

They nagged, cursed, even tried to get out of doing it (just like in my Writing Workshop)… jejejeeee… in the end they were mixing their own palette…

I have to say,

I AM SO PROUD OF THEM!!

and they are so very proud of what they achieved… they laughed at me because I literally jumped with joy every time another one was finished… YAY!!!

I wonder, is there a way to make them appreciate their efforts and be as proud of their writing as they were of their painting?

Is there any chance they will trust the process of writing as they trusted the process of mixing a little bit of this color with a bit less of this one, plus a bit of the other, voila: perfect tone… perfect wording!!??

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I’ll keep you posted…

Oh, btw… as promised, my Mother’s Day painting/present done by my daughter in her Art class at school…

lovely lady based on a Lichtenstein

Isn’t she just beautiful and so photogenic… it amazes me how comfortable my daughter is with signing her work because I never do… good for her, being careful as to what she inherits 🙂