This morning was my first time to be observed in the classroom by one of the administrators. We had a pre-observation meeting last Friday in which she asked me some general stuff, and then she observed my first period class, then came back during my conference period to discuss what she saw.
She had absolutely nothing bad to say at all... in fact, she said she wished she could come take Art class herself. :)
I even had to de-fuse a verbal snit between two hot-headed teenage boys, which is quite unusual for my sedate-to-sleepy first period class. I took care of it in my usual manner without batting an eyelash (humor and firm insistence tends to get results for me) and remembered that it was probably a GOOD thing it happened while my administrator was in there, because she could get a good idea of how I handle problems.
In another couple of weeks I'll have my second observation, by my own campus principal. He's a bit on the stern side, more so than the one this morning, so we shall see. I'm going to go about my usual business, though. No dog-and-pony-show for the principal; the kids know it's different and they don't always know how to respond to it. He might as well get an accurate picture of everyday life in Art class.
The class he'll be observing is a small one, populated mostly by upperclassmen on the football team. Surprisingly, however, they're a fun bunch to work with and seem to enjoy exploring their artistic sides. I introduced charcoal pencils and tortillons to them today, and the varsity quarterback absolutely LOVED working with them -- "I'm really good at this, miss. I *own* the coal, man!" as he busily smudged the black carbon dust into the brown kraft paper.
Already, this year is as different from last year as night is to day. I have made friends with the entire staff (I don't think I knew everyone's name in North Ruralville even by the end of the year, they were all so stiff and unfriendly) and I love going to work every morning. It feels like I'm walking in a dream sometimes.
A happy one, for sure.
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