matching tracksuits

I’ve been writing all day. Planning lessons (putting the finishing touches on a unit about the memoir in which we study Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings) and preparing materials for my PAS-T notebook. The former I don’t mind; the latter is a hastle.

PAS-T is an acronym for “Pain in the…” — no, rather it’s “Performance Assessment System for Teachers”. It is, in short, a pile of paperwork that I am to provide three different evaluators as they come through my classroom two times each throughout the year for formal observations. My PAS-T notebook is to include things like,

• Summary of plan for integrating instruction
• Class profile
• Annotated list/samples/photos of instructional activities/materials/displays
• Lesson/intervention plan
• Summary of staff consultations
• Syllabus
• Lesson plan(s)
• Differentiation
• Annotated photos of class activities
• Sample handouts/transparencies/Thinking Maps
• Student samples of technology integration
• Record-keeping/monitory system
• Labeled and dated grades
• Teacher-made tests/assessments
• Example grading rubric
• Grading procedures
• Student work with feedback
• Progress reports/letters for parents/students
• Survey and summary
• Class rules with description of development procedures/reinforcement system
• Classroom diagram with comments/alternative room arrangement
• Class schedule
• Explanation of behavior management philosophy/procedures
• A printed copy of the teacher’s home page
• Log of rapport building efforts (notes, calls, conferences)
• Copy of newsletter
• Agenda from orientation/fieldtrip
• Documentation of Technology Proficiency or letter of intent
• Resume
• Certificates, agendas, support materials from presentations given
• Certificates, agendas, support materials from presentations attended
• Documentation of membership/participation in professional organizations
• Performance goal setting forms
• Chart of student progress throughout year
• Analysis of grades for marking period
• Log of collegial collaboration
• Documentation of meeting established annual goals

It is difficult to think of this as more than busy work. I mean, how useful can a classroom diagram with comments be to an evaluator who’s sitting in my classroom?

I’m all for accoutability, but this is starting to feel like an extra burden.

Still, I will perservere, and I will get only “Exemplory” ratings because anything else would drive me mad. If I’m to jump through hoops, I want to jump through them while juggling chainsaws and lecturing on Kant — I want to blow people’s minds.

Fortunately, I didn’t spend the whole weekend at a desk; we spent some of it at a table, so to speak: Table Rock State Park, which means more hiking and more waterfalls.

Such a burden.

A few more pictures are available at Flickr.

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