So I had my performance review. My VP came in to my class last week and watched me teach, I showed her my binders (yep, I obsess about those in teaching as well as in writing) and we had our follow up meeting today. She said I did everything exceptionally well, that she was really pleased with all the benchmarks I'd been hitting in her dropdown menus... and then she dropped the bomb. She told me I was "satisfactory."
Satisfactory?
What the F--eeback?!
Now, if a doctor says I'm in satisfactory condition, it means I'm "not deteriorating or likely to die." I'm breathing on my own. Stable. I might even be able to shuffle myself to the bathroom unattended. That's satisfactory.
So if my VP tells me I'm satisfactory, I'm thinking I must need teacher rehab, maybe curriculum physio, or an emergency transfusion of staffroom coffee.
She did tell me her only two options were: Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory, so I guess I should be glad I scored so high. But to me, satisfactory is just not good enough. Satisfactory says: meh... it's okay, I guess. You're not E -- Excellent or even G -- Good. You're S. Like pick up your socks S or you'll be on the receiving end of that N-word -- Needs Improvement.
The teachers I know, the ones who've taught my kids, the ones I work with are all outstanding. They go the extra mile. They care deeply about the kids they teach and are committed to helping those kids succeed. Even the kids who don't want to. Especially those ones. These teachers work long hours in and out of class. We all know teachers like these -- and we all know they are so much more than satisfactory.
I say it's time to review the review. Crack open a thesaurus. There's a world of adjectives out there, people. Let's not settle for satisfactory.
Satisfactory?
What the F--eeback?!
Now, if a doctor says I'm in satisfactory condition, it means I'm "not deteriorating or likely to die." I'm breathing on my own. Stable. I might even be able to shuffle myself to the bathroom unattended. That's satisfactory.
So if my VP tells me I'm satisfactory, I'm thinking I must need teacher rehab, maybe curriculum physio, or an emergency transfusion of staffroom coffee.
She did tell me her only two options were: Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory, so I guess I should be glad I scored so high. But to me, satisfactory is just not good enough. Satisfactory says: meh... it's okay, I guess. You're not E -- Excellent or even G -- Good. You're S. Like pick up your socks S or you'll be on the receiving end of that N-word -- Needs Improvement.
The teachers I know, the ones who've taught my kids, the ones I work with are all outstanding. They go the extra mile. They care deeply about the kids they teach and are committed to helping those kids succeed. Even the kids who don't want to. Especially those ones. These teachers work long hours in and out of class. We all know teachers like these -- and we all know they are so much more than satisfactory.
I say it's time to review the review. Crack open a thesaurus. There's a world of adjectives out there, people. Let's not settle for satisfactory.