Why do some teachers hide away?

Image by author

Observations.

For my love of going into other people’s classrooms, I always feel a sense of dread when it comes time to do the formal observations. There’s always a tendency to ‘put on a show’ rather than just ‘do your thing.’

I’m wondering why that is.

Fear of stuffing up  – those lesson plans I’ve made almost always end up being stuffed up by an expected curve ball. Technology that always works sometimes doesn’t.  A kid is having a moment. You get tongue-tied.

Fear of negative judgement – Teaching is a deeply personal activity and one that requires huge amounts of emotional investment if you are doing the job right.  Putting yourself out there opens yourself up to the risk that someone might not like what you are doing requires strength.

I’ve been in schools where observations just happened, a senior leader would plonk themselves in the room unannounced…