“So how do you think the lesson went?” asked Nettlenerves.
They always asked you how you think it went, first. Tamiko decided that she was just going to focus on her weak points. No one really thought her lessons were good, anyway.
“My strategy lesson for the lowest group may have needed some work. Looking back, I don’t think it was focused. I also think maybe the book was a bit too hard in terms of concepts. There were still some management issues with some of the transitions…”
“First things first. Let’s start with the Shared Reading, since that was the first part of the lesson”, Nettlenerves interrupted.
“Yes, of course”, stammered Tamiko “I know I didn’t get to all of the targeted words…”
“It was a bit too ambitious”, said Booker pouncing on Tamiko’s words.
“Yes. I was concerned with that, as well”, added Nettlenerves, “We have to make sure the lessons are done in ways that the children are getting what we teach them. I’m not sure if you’re getting that.”
More negativity. More criticism. Tamiko just nodded her head and looked down at her plan. She bit her lip trying to suppress her tears.
“Yes, the amount of work in the book was a little ambitious. Remember, you don’t have to have so many teaching points in the book to get your point across, and you have to consider time”, advised Steele.
“Yes, timing is key. I noticed that you rushed through the ending of the book”, was Booker’s critique.
“True, however, that move was warranted and she did get back to the meaning of the story by talking about the theme at the end. It was beautifully done. You took them right back to the meaning of the text.” Steele remarked casually “I will also add that the lesson was clear and focused and the children picked it up”, Steele asserted.
“Thank you”, was all Tamiko could manage, more dumbfounded by where the compliment came from, than the compliment itself.
“The strategy lessons during the guided reading groups were a little unfocused like you said. I noticed that when you conferred with some of your students, you did not engage in teaching that was related to what the focus was”, interjected Nettlenerves.
“I know. It’s just that it’s hard to know how they will respond to the books. Sometimes the things I think they will have problems with they don’t, and sometimes there are other things that come up on top of the challenges that I expected them to have”, Tamiko explained.
“I think it goes back to really knowing your students. If you know your students, you will choose the books so that they do engage in the problem solving that will get them to the next level”, added Steele once again.
“Yes, but part of knowing your students is what you are observing during the lesson. If your observations are off then your teaching is going to be off”, Booker commented.
The conversation went on for the next ten minutes or so about Tamiko’s conference notes and what she had written and whether or not it was a true portrait of each child’s ability as ascertained by the women who had been in the room. There was lots of back and forth discussion about them and it made Tamiko feel uncomfortable to say the least.
“How about we work on conference notes for a while. Tomorrow morning before school, we’ll have a professional development session on conference notes, then you’ll come and watch me in my classroom, and then you’ll do it on your own for a week and we’ll check back in and see how things are going”, suggested Steele.
“I think that would be good. And I’m going to schedule an informal observation in December to see how much progress is being made. Then we can work on choosing a focus for lessons as well as appropriate books”, said Nettlenerves.
Conference notes and book choice were the most basic things to teaching. They were like learning how to float to a swimmer. “If I’m not even good at this stuff, then maybe all hope is lost. Maybe I shouldn’t even be a teacher”, Tamiko thought dejectedly to herself. The compliment that had been paid earlier had been completely erased from her mind.
Arrangements were made for Tamiko to visit Mrs. Steele, and the meeting was over. At least, no one would be in her classroom for a week or so. And this time she got to be the observer instead of being the observed and that took a lot of the pressure off of her, but then Steele would soon be prying over her conferencing notes, lesson plans, and materials. It was enough to make her want to scream. Once she saw the other women starting to converse amongst themselves, Tamiko slipped away from the conference room and back downstairs to her own classroom.