Observation Update

So I got an email today at like 8:45 saying that the Vice Principal who was supposed to observe me couldn't because of a last minute meeting and that he was sending the Principal instead. This was good in some ways because as I mentioned in my previous post I have historically better rapport with her than with him. This, however, was also disastrous because she looks for totally different things from a teacher than he. I had designed a very elaborate and complicated matrix of group work assignments with multiple diverse rotations (meaning that every 7 minutes the kids get up and form a completely separate group. It's awesome, and scary at the same time. This also involves a lot of noise and confusion from everyone, which is why I selected it because the group I was having him observe is inherently noisy and likes to move around a lot. I figured this way they'd have an excuse for always talking and walking around the room. The reason I selected this class is because the VP is always on my case about not making things culturally relevant, and this is my Bilingual culture class, so I figured he couldn't complain about that under these circumstances.
The lesson was brilliant. We've been learning about famous bilingual or Latino authors. Monday we had a PPT presentation about the top 10 most influential/important Latino authors (did you know that there's like 7 Nobel Prize winners from Spanish speaking countries?). Yesterday we did an enrichment project in the computer lab to let them explore some of their favorites from the PPT in depth. Today I had them rotating between 4 stations, each representing one of the authors we spoke about (Cervantes, Garcia Marquez, Cisneros, and Neruda- diverse group, huh?) reading a sample of their writing and doing either an analysis or a creative writing project with the reading sample. Each assignment was short- only 7 minutes, so as soon as the kids got started they had to finish- smart, huh?
The problem is, that the Principal prefers having students sit quietly in their desks and read. I think that overall they did a pretty good job, however, and there were a few rough spots but basically the kids behaved and did as they were told. I mentioned my content and language objectives at the beginning of the class and had a fun follow-up assignment for homework (Mrs. U LOVES it when we assign enrichment homework). I think the kids had a good introduction to the authors of Latin America in a positive, upbeat, inclusive setting. We'll see how it went down with her this afternoon when I go before the firing squad for the follow-up interview.
Stay tuned for the official synopsis.
UPDATE: I met with the principal in her office after school today. It's funny how going to the Principal's office is scary even for teachers. We had a really nice talk, though, and the majority of what she had to say was really positive. She told me she thought the lesson was great and that my classroom management was great. She said she was amazed at how well the students responded to me and that she was surprised to see them so excited and engaged in a lesson about world literature. She thanked me for my hard work, gave me some good ideas that I could use in future classes, and we had a nice conversation about what I'm teaching and what I'll be teaching next year- which is nice because that implies that I'll be back next year and that I'll have tenure. Overall it was a challenging experience, but I'm glad that she reviewed me because 1. her input counts for more and 2. I really do get along with her better.
Yay!