For Better or Best

There is power in positivity. This is one of the things I have always believed and that was re-enforced after the discussion on evaluation and assessment. Early on in life, I learned to be positive about all the issues that come my way. I learned to be positive even amidst my heart bypass operation and the many problems (mostly financial) in our family. And indeed, it helped me and others around me to see things more lightly, to deal with problems more calmly.

In evaluation and assessment, it is also important to dwell more on the positive notes of evaluation rather than on the negative points especially on the person being assessed. Of course, not all the time, the evaluation will come out positively, but in the field of education, the positive assessment must always be presented while the negative ones be given discreetly, discussed privately, no need to elaborately write on the paper. Evaluation should be done with the goal of guiding and nurturing the teacher, and not to shame or defame a person. I like this principle very much and I wish our country would emulate.

Think of the standard marriage vow in a wedding ceremony, “for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer,” and note the sequence of events go from positive to negative. It should not be the case for us. Rather, we should go from better to best. I am not saying however that we forget about the negative comments of a child or an evaluator because it too can help us become better people after all. What I want is the negative things to be discussed orally with the person involved and in private rather than put it in detail in his or her record and be a part of his or his history.

I remember my first regular stint as a teacher in a progressive school, I was observed by my superior on my first day and her observation created a lasting impact in my mind and in my teaching profession altogether. I even remembered the day she discussed with me her findings. I know I am neither a perfect person nor perfect teacher but because of her gentle and loving approach in discussing to me her assessment of my teaching, I became more passionate of teaching after that encounter. To this day, even if I’m no longer teaching professionally, I know I will still love teaching for life as I am also a student of thought.

I was also evaluated a number of times while I was still teaching at a science high school although I don’t get to know the results of these evaluations as it were never discussed with me, whether in writing or in person. However, I am confident that I have fulfilled my responsibilities as a teacher-adviser. Maybe, my evaluation results during my teaching in the science high school were no longer discussed to me because I have passed their expectation and maybe because I already have previous teaching experience, however, I would rather they discussed these results with me because I know that these kinds of assessments will help me improve myself to be a better person. I know that improvements are a continuous process of changing and re-changing yourself, and that I can never really be perfect, unless I’m already with my Savior. So, as long as I’m here in this world, I know I still have things to work out for in myself. And I firmly believe a good evaluation and assessment is a key in order for someone to continuously strive to be better.

Evaluation is necessary in nearly every aspect of our lives in order for us to strengthen our weaknesses, improve our skills and to look for innovations. And as much as possible, we should do our daily tasks as if we are being evaluated at the end of each day. There are a few people who do this, who only perform well when they know they are being evaluated. This result to false evaluation and instead of being able to help, this kind of evaluation may cause further harm to the person than good. Some other times, this kind of evaluation leads to the person being evaluated holding grudges to the evaluator himself or even to his or her co-teachers being evaluated.

Now that I am in the position of being the one to evaluate the teachers and personnel of Claret School of Quezon City where I’m currently the head of Marketing & Research Center, I have with me my previous experiences of being evaluated and the knowledge to be objective as much as possible in doing my evaluation. What exactly is my goal? Do I want to know those who are not performing so I can fire them, or do I want to help them become better teachers? My main goal right now is to present a school with quality as may be seen in the student performance and other indicators. I know that evaluation is one of the key in order to achieve this goal. If I know the main assets of the school and the main weaknesses, I would know which programs to incorporate that can help us improve these weaknesses and further strengthen our assets.

These coming months, I’m scheduled to do our school evaluation, one of product evaluation and then on process evaluation. It is important that I make sure we have a firm foundation towards the quality education we are aiming in the school that is not far from the vision/ mission of the school. I just wish that the teachers as well as the personnel would not fear the evaluation, rather, that they should gladly entertain being evaluated. Also, evaluation should not be tied up with monetary equivalence.

So evaluation must be done to make them better teachers if not the best. The choices are clear, for better or best!

Photo Credit: https://losedabooze.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/striving-to-be-my-best/