Commencement
Page 88
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All the teachers involved in the meeting arrived at the same time, and they were all equally in the dark about what was going on. After a few minutes, Principal Stone and Nettlenerves arrived, with Booker tagging along behind them. Principal Stone sat at a desk near the front of the room, allowing Nettlenerves to take control of the meeting.
“Good morning, everyone”, Nettlenerves greeted her audience.
“Good morning”, the faculty responded in unison.
“I know you’re all anxious to know what this meeting is about so let’s get right to it. On Friday, Principal Stone got an e-mail from Central about the Quality Review. The Quality Review inspector has chosen all of you to be observed. Some of you are familiar with the process, but there are many of you that have never participated before which is why we have convened this meeting today.”
Tamiko’s heart was gripped with fear as Nettlenerves uttered those last words.
“Not only will you be observed in your classrooms, but you will also serve on a panel in which the reviewer will ask you questions about the school. As you know, the Review is going to be in two weeks, which is not a lot of time to prepare. This is really important because you will all be representing this school and what happens in your classrooms may be a deciding factor in determining our school grade. Our state scores for the upper grades aren’t that great, and neither are our parent surveys, so this Quality Review is going to make or break us. I can’t impress upon you enough how serious this is, since our grade can affect our school’s budget. Miss Booker and myself will be conducting ‘walk-throughs’ of each of your classrooms and providing you feedback that you will use to prepare classroom environments. You will also need to submit any and all lesson plans that you will be following that day for approval.”
Tamiko’s head was swirling. She was still struggling with the last task of setting goals for all of her students in various subject areas, then there were the children that were being reassessed, now she had to go through observation boot camp again. It all just seemed like too much to bear. Then she thought about what the apostle Paul had said had said:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”1
Tamiko repeated the verse over to herself and tried to listen to Nettlenerves as she continued her lecture:
“Now because of the importance of this review, we are going to be conducting your formal observations at the same time. So you can consider the Quality Review your final observation for the year.”
“My strength is made perfect in weakness…” Tamiko meditated.2
“And we expect that no one here will use the interview as the opportunity for critique. It’s unprofessional at best. Remember, this is your school. What ever you say about this school is a reflection on you as well. Now are there any questions?”
“When are the walk-throughs going to be conducted?” asked Miss Robinson.
“We’ll start today and continue through Wednesday. Mr. Orvis and Miss Bynum will be first.”
“If there’s something wrong with our classroom environment, how soon will it have to be fixed?” asked Orvis.
“Once we do a walk-through, we’ll schedule a meeting with you to debrief. At that meeting we’ll let you know the date for turnaround, because it’s largely going to depend on how much needs to be worked on.”
“How long are the reviewers going to be in the classrooms?” Robinson asked.
“Probably not more than 10 to 15 minutes. But no matter when they come in or how long they stay, you’ve got to be on your A game.”
“When is the panel meeting and how long is it going to last?” queried Hule.
“The panel meeting is during your lunch period and shouldn’t take longer than 20 -30 minutes.”
“When is the deadline for lesson plans?” Tamiko asked timidly.
“In a couple of days we’re going to have another meeting where we will be giving you guidelines for your lesson plans and we’ll talk about due dates at that time.”
“What types of questions are they going to ask on the interview?” asked Mrs. Woods.
“They will be asking you about the school and it’s mission, about our goals and programs, things like that. We’re going to be providing you with fact sheets so everybody is on the same page.”
This question and answer session went on for some time until the teachers had exhausted their brains of all questions, and Nettlenerves adjourned the meeting.
“Are you going to be okay?” Mrs. Steele asked Tamiko.
“It is a bit overwhelming, but I think I can handle it.”
“Remember, I’ve been through this before, so if you have any questions we can talk later.”
“Oh, thank you, Ros. Maybe I will later. Right now I’m just trying to focus on getting through today.”
“Miss Bynum,” called Nettlenerves “may I speak to you for a moment?”
Mrs. Steele and Tamiko were about to leave as the rest of the teachers had done, when Nettlenerves interrupted them.
“Of course” Tamiko said civilly.
“I’ll see you later, Tamiko”, Rosalyn said quietly as she left the room. There was no one left except Tamiko, Nettlenerves, and Stone.
“Miss Bynum, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but we’re very concerned about your teaching…”
“This goes way past concern”, interjected Principal Stone, angrily. “I’m putting you on notice. We’re watching you. Don’t even think about pulling any slick tricks on the Quality Review. If you do I’ll make sure you never work again. Don’t think I can’t make it happen.”
Tamiko couldn’t believe the temerity of this woman. Then Tamiko had a second thought as she began to recognize what this was. Tamiko had been with God too long not to recognize the devil working through this woman. “The Lord rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Tamiko said inside herself, before responding.
“Mrs. Stone what have I ever done that would make you think I would do something like that? Haven’t I cooperated with everything that you’ve wanted?”
“I’m not going to play cat and mouse with you, Bynum. You’re on notice. If you think you can’t be broken, you just cross me. Now I think you better go and pick up your class while you still have one.”
“God bless you, Mrs. Stone”, Tamiko said before she turned to leave.
“Save it for yourself ‘cause I don’t need it.”
Tamiko left without another word. She knew what she was up against now. The forces of satan were out to try to destroy her, but she would not play into his hands. It was satan who wanted her to give up teaching, and he had planted enemies in her path. But God had been merciful to Tamiko. As she walked down to her classroom, she began to reflect on the last few months. It was God that worked through her father to encourage her and stop her from quitting her job. It was God who worked through Rosalyn to help her learn more about teaching. It was God who had helped the students under her care to grow and blossom. She even heard from the reading teacher that, so far, the children who had been re-tested did as well or even better on the assessments than when Tamiko gave them. God had been with her all this time, and had kept her from falling into the snare of the enemy. Tamiko knew He would continue to keep her now. She didn’t know what would happen at the Quality Review or the rest of the year for that matter, but she wasn’t worried because she knew God was in control. She even thought about her dear friend Tim and his situation. Tamiko had been praying for him for a long time and finally, he was a baptized believer. If God could change his heart, couldn’t he heal his broken body? There were many storms raging in Tamiko’s life at this time, but she had learned from her earlier mistake. This time she wasn’t going to look around, but keep her eyes focused on Jesus.
Sixty-Seven