My Observation In John S. Martinez Magnet School

After completing my thirty hours of fieldwork in John S. Martinez Magnet School, I am more motivated than before to become a teacher. By observing my mentor teacher, I have realized the amount of effort and patience that goes into being a teacher, which is more than people would think. Some students are on different levels than others, or some kids ask to go to the bathroom constantly, or just breaking up the students side conversations when they should be paying attention. Maybe it is the content that the kids are learning that keeps them restless, but they are held to reasonable standards, according to the Common Core. The students should be learning a certain number of skills and information throughout the school year so they can advance to the next grade level feeling prepared. The Common

Core is a recently new nation wide curriculum that almost every state has adopted, and sets a standard for the students of America. With this new curriculum in place, teachers now have to adjust the way they teach to the students and if you’ve been teaching for many years, this may be a hard adjustment for you. Once you get to personally know your students, you can find the best techniques and strategies that work for you and the kids while teaching, which is important. How do you know if you are effectively teaching the kids? The student’s performance will show it. Tests and personal student achievement are obviously important and a way to measure if the kids are absorbing all the right information needed to succeed and move on in school and in life. In the third grade classroom I observed at Martinez Magnet School in New Haven, the students recently took the state wide SBAC test, which tested the kids in the areas of English/Language Arts Literacy and Math. The students all went to the library to use the computers to take it. After the testing was over I asked some of the kids if they thought the test was hard or how they think they did, most of them said they like math and thought it was easy for the most part. Some students were more nervous and thought the test was a little harder. What determines if a student is on track and prepared for college or a career later on in life and what determines if they are behind or need more help? According to Smarter Balanced, teachers, administration, parents and community leaders come together to figure out what the kids should be scored on and how. Based on previous tests or curriculums, they came up with what they thought was the most fair and rigorous expectations for the students then created a scoring chart from it. There are four different level the kids can place in, level 1/novice, level 2/developing, level 3/proficient, and level 4/advanced. I think this is reasonable and works with the students and teachers to understand where they are academically and how or if they need to improve. Another way of evaluating a teacher is through observation in the classroom. You will be observed, rated, and evaluated. According to CSDE the teacher is evaluated through student learning objectives (45%), standards-based observations of instruction (40%), parent or peer feedback (10%), and student feedback or whole-school measures of student performance (5%). I think this is a fair evaluation, because the local Board of Education members can get a fist hand look at how the teacher performs in the classroom and if they are truly capable of working with the students to help them grow and learn. Of course, the observations have to be unannounced so that the teacher can act as they naturally would that day rather than prepare extra if known about it. While observing the teacher, the superintendent can acknowledge the strengths or skills that the teacher exceeds in or what areas may need more development. As the superintendent, you want to recognize that your teachers demonstrate a positive and effective environment for the students while remaining professional. As a teacher it is also important to reach out to the parents, and work together with other teachers or administration for resources and information that they can provide. Students feel more comfortable or encouraged to learn when the parents are aware of how they are doing in school or what they are learning via contact with the students teacher.

When the schools community is strong and works together, both the students and administration will feel more motivated and strive for progress. I think classroom observations are important and needed to properly evaluate a teacher. The multiple surveys, like parent, student, or peer surveys can help identify where a teacher may be having some problems or any accomplishments within the classroom of that teacher. Everyone may have a different view of the teacher though which can affect the ratings, like if a particular student or colleague may be bias toward them. I think that surveys are generally on point and fair but you can definitely not judge the teacher off only reviews as they hold simply a small percentage of the teacher evaluation. The student’s achievement in the classroom and throughout the school as a whole is a big factor in evaluating the success of teachers not only in CT but nationally and worldwide. The observations of a teacher and how they perform in the classroom is also an important and necessary element in the evaluation. Students will eventually be the next generation of society, and we teachers have to set them up to achieve and flourish in the real

world. It is our job as professional teachers and mentors to properly educate the students and make sure they can grasp the basic set of skills needed for the future like reading, writing, math, science, history and other subjects. Being able to connect with your students and competently teach while upholding certain standards is a huge accomplishment. As a teacher you should feel empowered and companionate to be in the classroom and inspire the students to try hard, reach their goals, and focus on what matters.