Evaluating My Students

It’s a good thing I didn’t make a new year’s resolution about blogging, because it clearly didn’t happen this week. Of course, if I’d made a resolution about it, maybe I would’ve posted something…But moving on.

One of my coworkers asked me to write a few sentences about the students in her class so that she can include my comments in the end-of-term reports. It’s interesting and bizarre to be on the other end of the report card. I’m thinking about what to say and how to say it. I wonder how my choice of words will be interpreted by the teacher, the administration, the parents, and the student. If I say someone is “quiet,” will that be taken as a compliment or a comment? If I write that one student is a pleasure to have in class, will he go tell others and will that create a problematic dynamic in the class? How can I politely say that one student never focuses in class and doesn’t do his in-class work? Or that another student probably spends more time on her hair than she does on her homework?

I’m not responsible for writing much (and my comments may not be used at all), so I’m not too worried about it. Still, evaluating students on paper is a funny and new feeling.