As a teacher, I want my craft to be respected AND I want feedback to always improve.

Intrinsic motivation is what inspires me to be the best teacher I can be for my students. Eagerly I push myself in content knowledge: reading about the newest pedagogy, attending conferences, participating in Twitter chats with the most progressive educators in the country.

That being said, I’m generally supported by my administration and don’t experience first hand the mistreatment some colleagues express.

With the current conversation around teacher evaluations in NY and the country, I’ve been thinking a lot about the way I’d want to be assessed. Philosophically, I have issues with grades and numbers for responding to students in their learning and that certainly transfers over to how I feel about teachers too.

In an ideal world, I see my administrator often. He/She has seen me in many settings, teaching different kinds of lessons; he/she is aware of what I am teaching and why, because we talk, formally and informally about the scope of planned units. We understand and respect each other’s beliefs about learning and work together to make sure the resources my students need are available.

When formal observations are necessary, it doesn’t matter when my administrator comes in, because I have nothing to hide; I’m eager to share the learning environment with him/her, may even want him/her to get involved. Talk to my students, walk around, find out if the kids understand what is going on. Then…

Meet with me soon after so we can discuss what he/she saw. Lead with the positive: specific, concrete examples and then explain why. After, if there is something I need to work on, let’s work on a plan together, setting up measurable goals that will help me help kids.

Don’t just comment on my learning target or myopically over focus on something small like the look of my classroom. (I’ve heard about administrators commenting on how open windows are, no joke.)

After a short time has passed, come back and visit again, specifically looking for implementation of the goals we discussed. Did I do a good job? What makes you say so?

Lastly, put it all in writing; be transparent. I’m expected to be, so admin should be too. Narratives are really effective ways to communicate growth. Use the language of the rubric, so I have a reference point when I go back to it. I value your feedback and want to grow, so let’s work together to create the best learning environment for kids. We don’t have to like each other, but we do have to respect each other’s role.

Teaching is a difficult job that requires a lot of a person. We all want to feel valued. We deserve the same time and care we are expected to give to students, to help us improve. If I can give personalized feedback on every written assignment to 130+ students, my administrators should be able to give me and my colleagues the same. Just saying.

What does your perfect teacher evaluation look like? They’re just words, right? So why are we so scared of them?

Starr Sackstein is an educator, NBCT, Award winning journalism teacher, NY State Director for JEA, published writer, and freelance photographer.  Her website is http://starrsackstein.com.