It has come to my attention that many principals are telling teachers what must be in their lesson plan. Let me clarify what the school administrators can demand from the teacher.
The administrators can RECOMMEND not tell the teacher what should be in his or her lesson plan. Moreover, the lesson plan must be made available to the administrators when being observed. That means a hard copy on the teacher's desk or a digital copy in the teacher's open laptop. Finally, the administrators can make sure the lesson plan represents the lesson observed, as long as it complies to the unit and topic being taught. Under no circumstances can an administrator dictate to the teacher what format the teacher's lesson plan should be.
Remember, the administrator can only evaluate the teacher, based on the actual lesson and not the lesson plan. The lesson plan is the teacher's guide to the lesson and not part of the administrator's observation.
A simple one page lesson plan that uses bullet points of the lesson being taught, with a introduction, body, and conclusion, with an exit slip should be sufficient to cover any one lesson.
Wing it. Most do. Keep a general plan or two in the desk. Always be ready for the drive by.
ReplyDeleteI'm under your batwing Batman said Robin , the new teach teacher on the block.
ReplyDeleteWrong. The admin can dictate what the curric, syllabi, unit, and even lesson must contain in terms of skills and content. They cannot dictate the format of the lesson plan. Sez so in the UFT contract and I grieved and lost. Also, if TR is on TIP, the actual format can be dictated.
ReplyDeleteI did say the lesson plan must represent the lesson taught and that usually is the curriculum, unit, and skills taught.
ReplyDeleteWhat they can and cannot do is irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteMany admins, mine included, DEMAND certain formats, minutia to include, and all the rest.
Sure, you can say no, but the Danielson's Disaster gives them a way to get back at you by purposefully low rating you to punish you, no matter how good your lesson.
This happens in my school. Most teachers not near retirement and all untenured teachers now tow the line. Danielson's is an evil rubric with all authority given to the principal to ruin you.
Chaz is wrong. 12:26 is both correct and wise. Chaz is blinded by his anti-principal rhetoric that would only get new teachers in trouble.
ReplyDeleteChaz you have a concerning habit of making too many sweeping conclusions with limited insight and context making you less credible.
Danielson ran my job security for so many years. How many since its inception. I'm guessing 8-10. In special ed and art. Doesn't apply. It sucked. Never follow that horseshit and never will.
ReplyDeleteThe UFT should be fighting tooth and nail to end Danielson. They probably forgot it’s still being used.
ReplyDelete4:41pm
ReplyDeleteChaz is correct, the lesson plan format is the teacher's, as long as the lesson plan d reflects the unit and topic taught
4:41 pm
ReplyDeleteI know you are a Principal and your job is to keep teachers clueless when it comes to their rights.
I bet you graduated from the "Leadership Academy".
The union has told us time and again that the lesson plan is the teacher's not the administration.
ReplyDeleteWatch your tails now that you're teaching under Richard Carranza. His gurus of equity say that principles such as objectivity, facts, urgency (punctuality, focus, attention to detail) are racist.
ReplyDeleteWatch yourselves if your lessons have any of these expectations in them.
The UFT isn't saying a peep on any of this.
If anyone thought that the Evergreen State College fiasco was a farce, the whole DOE is now Evergreen and everyone that is not on board with Carranza's program is now Bret Weinstein.
We are all Bret Weinstein.
Chaz
ReplyDeleteAll those Leadership Academy principals think they can make up the rules as they see fit. Keep up the good work.
The UFT is living La Vida Loca with the chancellor while the rest of us are shoveling horse shit all day with principals and APs cracking whips over our heads. No more dues, Chaz - I’m out.
ReplyDeleteLeave the union fool, you lose your rights and prescriptions
ReplyDeletePlus more.
And your admins will hurt you.
I still got my prescriptions, my rights and I left last year.
DeleteYou're a parasite.
DeletePrincipals are trying to intimidate teachers by falsely telling them that they must conform to their demands.
ReplyDeleteChaz,, your a godsend.
You can have the most perfect lesson plan in the world--but the teacher observation is based on evidence based on the Danielson--Domains 2 and 3--which is classroom environment and the actual instruction.
ReplyDeleteWrong, 11:53, you dont lose prescriptions or rights...
ReplyDeletewww.newchoiceny.com is the site to use in ending your union dues. do it now in June
ReplyDeleteIf you want to leave the UFT, you have until July 1st. The UFT is not a union and you lose nothing by leaving. You will however send a message to the phat boys eating quail and squeezing into three thousand dollar suits, while you have the joy of being called a sub and told to suck dick on a daily basis.
ReplyDelete2:44
ReplyDeleteYou have rights until they are violated and then you are helpless.
The same goes for all of us. You think the UFT comes to the rescue? They don’t and haven’t when I asked.
DeleteThe UFT does help when you are REALLY in trouble. Sadly, it should not have to go that far. My UFT lawyer was excellent. The charges against me were horrendous. Still employed.
DeleteHonestly, who really writes lesson plans? I'm sure most people wing it. We develop the talent after a year or too.
ReplyDeleteIts only a tool to hurt us in evals. The ap's stillnusecit against you. Just keep a general one on hand.
Keep wingin and slinging.
And singing summer tunes.
Hmmm Assistant Principals in a certain high school in D. 26 have told teachers, prior to a superintendent visit, to "have TWO copies of (their) plans on the day the of the sup't visit" (one for the teacher and one for the panel of ...visitors). If any teacher did not comply he/she could expect that the ...panel would take the sole plan with them when they left.
ReplyDeleteIs THAT allowed?
mkrstic;
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you feel that; "The UFT does help when you are REALLY in trouble."
Such has not been my experience.
I've been an U rating advocate for years. We're told "from the git" that we
won't win 99% of the cases because they're skewed in favor of the administration/superintendency; but that we should "make it look like (they/we) have a
solid chance of winning.
The speech was similar when the evaluation system changed.
What's more, you're the first person I have EVER heard say that his/her "UFT lawyer was excellent." My observation, feedback and experience has been the opposite.
Your comment has cheered me, as I sit, diverting myself from re-reading my binder on U-ratings, in preparation for the 3 or 4 I was told to expect to have this coming year (there are a few people who are still not subjected to the HE, E, D, I rating scale. I have a feeling that they, will "disappear" within the next year or two...) I always give 300% (just in case one day the lawyer who represents my client/colleague will succeed in overturning the decision - -it's happened twice in my case - and my work will prove to be helpful (not sure if that was the case, in either case...but....one does hope...).
Your comment (I'm hoping it was earnest and not "tongue in cheek") has made me feel better about the task(s) ahead.