Student's Evaluating Teachers

Should Students Evaluate Their Teachers?

This article caught my eye as the end of the year is quickly approaching and my students are evaluating me for my appraisal. The middle school where I teach in Florida is in it's first year of a new teacher appraisal system that focuses on the students and their perception of your teaching instead of the effectiveness of your teaching from your perspective and the administrators perspective.  I was very apprehensive about this process as I could spend countless hours preparing engaging lessons, but if the students did not think it was a "great" lesson it didn't matter.  This was most evident at my most recent classroom observation, by my administrator, when she was interviewing students during the observation.  At the post-observation meeting she shared the results of the questions she posed to my students and thankfully they were able to answer the questions she posed and they did so in a positive manner.  It always worried me that she was going to ask a student who thought I didn't like them or a student that did not appreciate my class.  I hoped and hoped my students were going to be honest, and not say things because they felt a certain way about me and my class.  I take all comments made by my students with a grain of salt as they are seventh graders who are trying to find their place in the world.  I just didn't want their evaluations to make my effective teaching to be diminished.  However, as I reflect if I am doing a good job my students will communicate that because they won't have anything negative to contribute. My students are constantly evaluating me or are expected to with our new system in place. 

I feel that all students in K-12 should be evaluating their teachers in a formal manner so the teacher can continue to work to meet the needs of his or her students.  My students will take a survey about my classroom and teaching that will help me prepare for next year.