sarahsuebob

 Don't quit on your worst day.

True story.

Same thing in my district. We just took half an hour a week away from students, and changed it into meeting time. And, as part of that meeting time, they have us driving clear across the city to another school twice a month. That's a really good use of our time that we could be spending with kids.

Colorado teacher here. They haven't quite worked out the kinks of how to do that other 50% – the 50% based on student test scores. For example, I teach high school science, and high school science isn't a tested subject. So how will I be rated based on test scores? That part remains to be seen. However, there are many educators serving on the committees that are making the decisions about how the evaluation process will work, so I have slightly more faith that it will come out okay in the end. My admin is really good though, and they have said repeatedly that the evaluation system still won't force them to keep any bad teachers or make them get rid of any good teachers. It's still just a tool, and in many ways, still an overly complicated and yet overly simplified one.

Be real. Be yourself. Tell them that you like them. Show them that you like them. And own them – they are YOUR kids, not those kids.