Mentors/Evaluators

The Big Picture:

Authors of the Resource Manual for Administrators and Principals Supervising and Evaluating Teachers of Young Children explain,

“The overarching goal of the entire process is to support and scaffold a career long journey of self-discovery and professional growth for each teacher. Just like our goal is to make every young child into a lifelong learner, in love with the process of growing and developing new knowledge and skills, this process is designed to facilitate opportunities for teachers to grow, develop, and model lifelong learning for the children. We can help teachers get excited about this prospect by inviting them to be fully engaged in the process. We can communicate to them that many forms of evidence are needed to paint a complete and holistic picture of their professional practice. As mentors and evaluators, our role is to help them understand the many forms that evidence can take, including child work samples, teaching artifacts, and anecdotes that illustrate child behaviors representative of their growth and development. We also need to emphasize to teachers that artifacts are not the ends in themselves, but rather the means through which they can tell the story of their professional growth and accomplishments, a story that is best told in their own voice. We encourage teachers to collect, reflect about, select, and present their own evidences. The NC Teacher Evaluation Process is a collaborative and participatory process. It is not something that we do to or for teachers; rather it is a process we go through with teachers.”

When we understand the big picture, we are able to work from the inside out, realizing that our why, how, and what are identical to that which we support our teachers to understand about their impact in working with children and families. In your day to day support of teachers, it is important to frequently reflect upon your own thinking, your approach, your knowledge and skills, your delivery, your stance, etc. Ask yourself, “Am I modeling what the children deserve?”

For Simon Sinek – “The Golden Circle” TED Talk Clip, please click here