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.
