Somebody in administrator classes has been teaching a technique for teacher management. Administrators come in and observe class. They then leave a note or write an email that praises some aspect of the class:

Wow: “Your students (the majority) demonstrated respect and rapport when a student volunteered to pass out the calculators and were attentive to the lesson. I wonder… why students were allowed to sit together who were unable to do so and why their behavior was not addressed when it disrupted the lesson.”

That last would be two boys talking and not paying attention. I didn’t feel the lesson was “disrupted.” The idea “disrupted” seems a bit bigger than those two, although I disrupted the lesson when one was forced to move, I guess. I’m not going to complain about the comment. The desire to improve staff performance makes sense. I’m not above learning new tricks, either.

Eduhonesty: The problem is that pretty much all the feedback we get nowadays is in the form of “I liked this but not that.” When the behavior of students becomes a major factor in evaluating teachers, you end up with today’s situation. Positive feedback always becomes qualified. An occasional “good job, well done” without caveats might go a long way toward engendering more enthusiasm in me for my job.