School

School is almost over. I can hear the bell ringing in my head...or is that bell always ringing? This week my kids are going to be in for it. I will be testing them like crazy, so that I will be able to score everything this coming weekend, when I'm not with my hula family that is. -Private show on Friday and a performance at Folklife Festival on Saturday-
I feel like this year went by way to fast and the kids this year didn't get to learn as much as the kids did last year. I felt like I wasn't on the ball enough for them. Like I did some slacking...I'm sure they learned, I just wonder if it was enough. Was I enough? Some of their test scores that are already in aren't showing that. The ones that were getting it already did go up, the ones that were close have moved up, but the ones that were low didn't make any gains. They just stayed the same. Was there something that I could have done differently to change their learning? Could I have made the classroom more conducive to their learning style? Who knows?
I got my final evaluation this past week and it was good. I was on a new form this year, where it is more about me and my teaching and how it is related to the "wonderful" domains. I ranked myself in the Exlempary and Proficient range for most of the areas and felt I was basic in two areas. It was interesting to have that kind of "conversation" with my boss and in telling her things that I felt were short comings in myself-which she would have never guessed. The nice thing about it was that my boss gave me some wonderful complements on my teaching and said that in only my second year of teaching she thinks I teach as well as a Master teacher. I was pretty amazed considering I feel that I am still learning and trying to do as much as I can do.
This summer I will be starting work on my Professional Certificate and it will nicely fold into my evaluations of next year, but that isn't something I like talk about. This year isn't over yet, why step too far ahead.
Oh the joys of being a teacher!