Is Your School’s Teacher of the Year Really TOTY?
Do you agree with the Teacher of the Year nomination and
selection process at your school? I am sure it varies at each school or
district. Each year teachers across Georgia nominate and then vote on a teacher
who should represent their school as Teacher of the Year and if selected, the
teacher would become the District Teacher of the Year. This teacher would also have
an opportunity to possibly serve as Georgia Teacher of the Year. At our school,
the teachers can nominate up to three teachers. The top three teachers with the
most votes will make it to the second round. These teachers are given a set of
questions to answer in regards to their educational experiences, philosophy of
teaching, results of students’ academic growth, etc. and the rest of the
teachers have an opportunity to read their profile. This is where the problem
lies. Some teachers are not reading the teachers’ profiles. Instead, they just vote
for which teacher they “like” the most. I am curious to know what protocol your
school has in place to avoid the “popularity vote.”
Our school selection of TOTY is the same process you described. I hate to admit there has been times where this process has not been taken serious. Teachers felt how can we select a TOTY when we don't know or see what is happening in their classes on a day to day basis. Therefore, it appears it turns into a popularity contest. As for selecting the school's TOTY, the three last TOTY's select that person out of the final candidates. After an interview process, the three last TOTY's select the TOTY. The decision must be unanimous.
ReplyDeleteI have seen it work and I have also seen a small group of teachers between English, Social Studies, and Science corner the market so to speak and nominate one of the clique year after year so that essentially they pick the TOTY. They are good teachers and deserving but not always the best teacher in the school that year.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of having a "Top Three" and then having them create a profile by answering specific questions. At my school, each teacher gets one anonymous vote, and the person with the most votes wins...so of course that is more of a popularity contest than what you have in place. The way I see it, you can't control whether or not some teachers actually read over and consider the profiles. Their personal preference is valid in any case. After all, why do the "like" that teacher? It may be because they view them as extremely professional and friendly. What if two teachers are equally competent and professional, but one is just a little more collegial and personable than the other? Would people still cry foul and claim it's just a popularity thing? I'm just playing devil's advocate here. I've registered the same complaint (off the record), so I know where you're coming from. I actually do agree with you that it's a popularity contest at the school level, but I guess the higher up you go in the contest it winds up boiling down to true merit. Maybe.
ReplyDeleteI often think TOTY is a popularity contest. I am not saying we haven't had teachers who were more than eligible, we have had 2 that have been in the top 6 & one who was in the top 3. However, for the most part, the teachers that have been chosen have not been chosen based on what they have done for the students. For example, one teacher had been nominated for TOTY for 6 years straight and had never won until 2014. I was told he won because of his multiple nominations only. I would love to see the TOTY system revamped.
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