be a better teacher

I’m not teacher of the year (or even nominated). I don’t reach every student. But I have made a lot of ground in this area. I’ll never be perfect, and probably never be teacher of the year. I doubt I’ll ever reach every student.

My students took a standardized test in one of the classes I teach, and my pass rate was 63% compared to about 40% and 38% for the other two teachers of the same subject. Students come to me for help, take my class because I am the one teaching it, want me to teach the classes they’re taking, and a couple call me one of their favorite teachers. For this I am proud and grateful.

And since this year is over it’s a perfect time to reflect on this and my main goal for improvement next year: parent contacts.

With the first semester of the year over I have the following to report:
There are two chemistry teachers at our school, and my students did MUCH better on our final (we gave the same one) than the other teacher’s. The final was standards-based and required application or higher for most questions.
On the midterm test, my students did only a fraction of a percent worse than the best teacher in the school for Physical Science.
My problem-based final for Physics was designed by my students (they didn’t know it at the time). Almost all students passed. It was challenging, but could be a bit tougher. Next semester’s final won’t be fully problem-based (first semester Physics is mostly formulas, while second semester involves more conceptual material).
And, I haven’t been yelled at too much yet. I say too much because my department head yells at everyone. Well, not yell, but criticizes. Not put-downs, but he has a way of making people feel bad.
Anyway, we’ll see how second semester goes.

Those of you in the profession know, the feedback is either negative or yearly. Silence is a good sign that things are going well. But it’d be nice to hear how things are going sooner in the year. I can reflect on my own views of what is happening in the classroom, but it’s hard to get honest feedback from students, and administrators only know when there are complaints (when was the last time you called the principal to tell her that your kid loves his high school teacher’s class). I think I’m doing much better. What I find interesting is how so many people come to me for help. Does that mean I’m doing a good job? Does my advice mean anything? Or is it just because I’m there to listen that they want my advice? I mean, I have lots of ideas, and some of them can be great, but sometimes I’m not sure. How do you know you’re doing a good job in the classroom? Sure, students love certain teachers, but I’m not looking to be a favorite teacher. Those are usually elective, english, or history teachers anyway (subjects that don’t necessarily require logical thought). I’m not saying they’re dumb subjects. They’re just a different type of class from math and science. I just want to be effective…