And Barbara's comments make me want to cheer (and elect her as the next Governor of
Texas!!)---
"If a principal was not wise enough to understand that teachers are not pre-wired
automatons, and that students are not empty jugs waiting to be filled, then he/she
has no right to be a principal.
---- I am there to guide my students' learning and to meet their needs to take
them forward, not appease the personality and administrative foibles of my
principal. And I would fight for that right, even if it meant changing jobs."--
Barbara Braxton
...unfortunately, if you are under an administration that dictates what you WILL do
and requires that you follow lesson plans that must relate directly to
"whatever"---then your evaluation will reflect directly to that lesson (usually the
only one that the principal will see you perform, regardless of the other 2,000
things you do with students throughout the year).
While some principals may not be as "difficult" as the ones described, there are
MANY out there who directly manipulate not only their teachers but also their
librarians, in order to dictate the expectations that "need to met" during the
year. More often than not, it is a case of a principal trying to keep their own
jobs rather understanding the basic concepts of educating the students and
supporting their teachers. I've seen many of these "top-down principals" in the
last few years and it scares me to see how education is more business-like (with
directives from the top-down with little input from the teachers who are the
subject specialists or the students who absorb what is being taught). In the
meantime, teachers search for the "easy lesson" to "show-off" during their
evaluations and librarians hope that their students exhibit skills that their
administrators understand as important--- all for the "evaluation" and a "perfect
lesson plan" required by the administration.
Unfortunately, lesson plans exist even in America's K-12 school libraries....the
question to ask is "Are these the RIGHT lesson plans and are they directed to the
RIGHT audience?"
~Shonda
Shonda Brisco, MLIS
US / Technology Librarian
Fort Worth Country Day School
Fort Worth, TX
sbrisco@fwcds.org
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