Evaluating Education as the Year Ends
Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas
As the year comes to an end we as educators should take a look back at the year in its entirety, the new school year, and look ahead to the new year. If we have the fortune to be given a winter break, we should truly take the time to reflect on these three phases. We cannot be ready to teach if we have not learn, and we cannot learn if we do not study. It is part of our responsibility as educators to study, learn, and teach so that we can fully prepare our learners.
Evaluating the current school year
From the first day of school to the last day of the year, the current school year should be evaluated. We should reflect on how we prepared to open the school year for our students, and how we welcomed them into our classrooms. By now we should have a clear understanding of the educational level that our students have as individuals and as a classroom. Students who are well prepared should be encouraged to continue pursuing further self-learning, while at the same time encouraging them to help other classmates by sharing their knowledge. Students who were not prepared, have not caught up to their classmates, and are having a difficult time reaching the level required, should be our primary focus, and should be directed to further school resources and programs in order for them to reach an equal level of education.
Evaluating the year in its entirety
From the first school day of the year to the last day of the year, the year as a whole should be evaluated. We begun the year with a group of students who should have been able to learn, acquire, and demonstrate the knowledge necessary to advance to the next grade level. During our summer break we should have taken the time to review, improve, and realign our lesson plans. We have also began a new education cycle, with a new group of students, as we open a new school year. It is this new group of students that we are now working with so that they learn, acquire, and demonstrate the knowledge necessary to advance to the next grade level.
Preparing for next year
From what we learn in our evaluation of the current school year and the year as a whole, we can gain the knowledge and develop the tools that we will need to help our students succeed. Performing these evaluations will help us prepare for the next year. As we are in our winter break, and as we do during our summer break, it is our responsibility as educators to continuously review, evaluate, and prepare so that we may also continuously maintain in our presence the students whom we are serving.
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