Wouldn’t it be cool if every time a student walked into a classroom a theme song rang out to set the stage: “The Theme from Jaws” by John Williams for biology, “Jacqueline” by Franz Ferdinand for art class, or something by Philip Glass for history – dissonance and sweetness combined.

This is all a lead in to talk about the very in-the-news issue of judging teaching - or on the softer side - evaluating teachers. How’s that? Because if students came swinging into class everyday and had a musical cue about the teacher, the environment, or the day’s work, wouldn’t that be a way to support quality? Cueing the student to the expectation and then supporting their learning… isn’t that the way we should measure teacher quality?

Teacher evaluation – so hard to capture, because it could take many forms. Is it test scores? Parent and student evaluation? Principal or mentor observation? Or does it only happen in the New York Times and from the offices of researchers perched at Ivy universities?

But what do I know? I am just a parent who according to some teachers – no one in particular so you can all drop your pointed keycaps – doesn’t know a thing. But according to the government, I should know a lot and vote with my feet. On the other hand, I am not the one sitting in the classroom. 

In fact I haven’t been a student in California for the past thirty years so perhaps my child who is sitting in the classroom every day is the better evaluator of those who stand before her imparting knowledge.

But you my faithful reader, you don’t want me to conduct an exhaustive study, now do you? So instead, let’s cut to the chase… Cara – high school student…all you’re doing is lying on the couch with your Ipad as I madly write. Can you do something useful and provide the thoughts you’ve had about how you would determine a great teacher from one who is good?

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Alright, Mom, I am taking over – nice blog by the way . . . a great teacher is . . .  the Woodside Latin teacher. Why? Because one feels a nice focused energy, even if it is chaotic in his classroom. He’s engaging, funny, and quirky. He has high standards and high expectations of his students. He’s not like some teachers who lay out consequences on the board - he playfully dances around them and around the goodness that will be yours if you live up to his objectives.

Those can be a fun project, a funny story, or more to learn. He not only focuses on reading and translating Latin, but he incorporates the culture of ancient Rome into the class by using modern movies, ancient art, books, and more – he accesses a wide spectrum of information to support the topic. He also connects with each student on a personal level, and will convey specific personal notes on topics he knows that a particular student is passionate about while also sharing tidbits about himself – his life, his kids, his trips, his interests.

He makes connections. He can easily pick up on our student “in jokes” and easily move into the conversation and will continue it over the course of day or week. He gets us.

A good teacher is one who is engaging and can make the topic understandable, but maybe has some missing “connection” between every single student and the topic. Sometimes a project that a good teacher gives out only interests a few particular students and leaves others hanging; while a great teacher has formatted a project with different parts that different students can pick at and find the “hook” for each of them as individuals.

My 8^th grade English teacher was all this and slightly more. She had flashes of brilliance in some areas, and excelled in many others.

As an English teacher, she was probably one of the only teachers who clearly articulated how to write an essay in detail, giving us a plethora of worksheets with examples, frequently referring back to them throughout the year.

Throughout the year she was helping us put together a formal essay packet jammed with material that is helpful in high school – if only I could remember what I did with it. But the point is that I remember a lot of what she taught us.

Actually, organization is the hallmark of a great student – and both good and great teachers work on helping students with organizational skills. That said, teachers who demand a certain strict organizational expectation appear to have less personal connection with their students; whereas teachers who have more of a general approach to organization that they impart to students – while still allowing for each student to add a personal stamp – seem to connect better with students.

But Mom, it’s easy to talk about great and solidly good teachers - let’s talk about how some teachers are great for some students and complete misses for others.

High school math – the teacher has been really engaging for my friend, my bestie, who is not what I would call a good student. She’s prickly, demanding, sharp-witted, and full of back talk. And why we’re best friends, it’s not clear. But we’ve been together since we were two, so it works.

Anyway, she decided to take AP Stats her senior year, even though her high school math career has not been stellar, and she hasn’t liked most of her math teachers. However, this year one particular math teacher has caught her attention and she’s improved dramatically – for her.

I had the same math teacher last year, but he and I were not the perfect fit, and instead of doing well, I essentially flunked. So, he works well with her – but for me, it was a no-go. Though I don’t dislike him – I just felt like he wasn’t “there” for me in the classroom.

Now let’s just go to B-A-D. My 8^th grade science teacher – it was her one and only year in our district. She came from a little place in Canada and had taught only in private schools. She walked into our middle school and was completely not in control of her classroom. She could not connect with her students, couldn’t control her emotions, and on the last day of school she told my class that we were the worst class she had ever had and that she would never teach here ever again.

Lucky for her, her wishes were granted. But I did feel bad for her because that class had a lot of out-of-control students. And maybe if the students could have been better behaved in the class, then she could have had the opportunity to show us what she knew.

So basically, Mom, students aren’t empty vessels waiting to be filled with what the teacher at the front of the room can teach us – we want to explore with them, receive information in a way that works best for each of us, and be valued for what we bring to the table. Like many relationships, teacher quality - it’s a two-way street.

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Cara, thank you! I think you’ve ably summed it all up. Dear reader, as Linda Richmond from Coffee Talk would say – talk amongst yourselves, but loudly so we can all hear.