My friend, Tim, who I respect a lot, questioned the idea that self-evaluation is the only evaluation that really matters. I think there is definitely room for discussion on this point. His comment follows below and my reply follows after that.
The irony–
I read this: “Glasser and Deming agreed that self-evaluation was really the only evaluation that mattered. We have to hold to this principle, pursue it, nurture it, if we are to create learning environments that are need-satisfying.”
While the seniors are filling out their evaluations of me and the various mini-courses in their religion class this year, I don’t think my self-evaluation is the only one that matters!
Even since writing the following reply I continue to think about the need for and process of evaluation. Here’s the response I came up with a couple of days ago, though.
Yes, student feedback is important, but the real question is what is the feedback for?
If it is for you, then how you evaluate or respond to their feedback is the key piece in the process.
Some teachers will have student feedback available, but not even look at it for fear of what it might say.
Other teachers will read the student data and comments, but dismiss them because the students really don’t understand what education is about or what the teacher is trying to accomplish.
Still others will read the comments and resent the students for their candor.
And finally, some teachers will read student comments and truly reflect on what they are saying and how those comments might help them improve their instruction.
Students can say all kinds of things, but what they say matters only in the ways the specific teacher relates to their comments.
In the end, the only evaluation that really matters is self-evaluation, or how I process the feedback from others.
I have a personality that can get positive feedback from nine people and feedback for improvement from one person and it will be that “negative” comment or feedback for improvement that I will obsess on. My self-evaluation is not helpful to me at that point. I would benefit from someone who could help me see things more accurately, both the positive and the areas for growth. I think this is a special area in which superintendents and principals could change the way in which teacher evaluations are done.
Ultimately, it is how I respond to being evaluated that is the important thing.
Presently, I don’t think that most evaluators or evaluatees get this at all.
I see that my response might clarify things a bit, but not nearly enough. In the next blog post I will share an article that Bob Hoglund wrote a while back that offers further clarification when it comes to evaluation. He sees an important difference between reasonable external expectations (standards) and external control. For instance –
Do you want a pilot who self-evaluated that he is able to fly a passenger jet?
================
Just a reminder – The Choice Theory Study Group for this weekend has been cancelled.
The Better Plan . . 
I can’t remember where I heard this. It struck me as important.
There are four kinds of people in this world:
people who like you for the right reasons;
people who like you for the wrong reasons;
people who dislike you for the wrong reasons; and
people who dislike you for the right reasons.
And it’s only the last group you need to worry about.
Thanks Jim
Love it! I need to keep this in mind.
There is a delicate dance between evaluations by self and by others. When we respond to someone else’s evaluation of us, the personal nature of that response essentially means we are accepting the evaluation–making it our own. Certainly the energy to respond comes strictly from our own motivation (the attempt to align our real world with our quality world).
Leo Festinger was the first big writer about cognitive dissonance, and since then (the 1950s, I believe) many have written on self-deception in various applications. And those false self-appraisals can kill us. The kitty seeing a lion in the mirror may find new courage to hold his own with his litter mates, but should still run for cover if a hawk appears.
Evaluation by thoughtful others can be a lifesaver, but in the end, we still have to accept their appraisal and make our own response. — Looking forward to your follow-up post.
Your comments regarding self-deception got me to thinking, especially your advice to the kitty. Thank you for weighing in on this. As you say, in the end the evaluation of us by others can be a lifesaver, but it is our response that makes such feedback helpful or not. More on this tomorrow.
I was discussing this idea of self-evaluation and self-deception with my 5th & 6th graders yesterday in Bible. When Adam and Eve first sinned, they were the ones who decided they had done wrong and hid. God hadn’t said anything. It was a self-evaluation. God says “come to me” when we mess up, it is our minds that say we have to run and hide (trust issues!). This led into a discussion about improper self-evaluation. Kids do this quite a bit. They don’t want to be wrong or things to not be “goal met” as we say it in my classroom. So, even with a story that clearly does NOT have any dialog in it, they will mark in their self-evaluation that they have met the goal. They want it to be true, so in their minds it is. But, practicing self-deception is so very dangerous. How can we grow and improve if we aren’t honest and real with where we are right now? Evaluations coming from the outside are a tool for us to perform self-evaluation.
I think your response was accurate. We choose how we respond to outside evaluation, and we decide whether or not we will make it part of our self-evaluation. It is the self-evaluation and what we choose to do with it that matters.
Tami, your comments are so full of insight and help to me. The reminder of Adam and Eve’s behavior in the garden after their eating of the tree was especially powerful. They did self-evaluate at that moment. God even had to ask them, “Who told you that you are naked?” As you said, God most certainly accepts us and forgives us, yet it is our own self-evaluations and self-perceptions that seem to fight against His grace and mercy. We feel that we don’t deserve His forgiveness and that we need to be good for a while before we can come to Him. This is our thinking, not His.
What a powerful set of ideas! I am so glad you contributed to this discussion.
After reading the discussion, I want to add something that I am finding quite powerful with my students as it relates to self evaluation. For my semester finals this year, I created a content based self evaluation for my ESL 1 students. My students could use their translators, all their returned homework, and ask any questions for clarification. The only thing they could not do is collaborate (obviously). The Self Evaluation recalled learning experiences the students had participated in during the semester and allowed for them to reflect on various homework samples that gave evidence of their learning. Many times there were asked to write about what went well with a learning project and what they could do better in the future. They had to be specific. Without saying, they were very honest and it was delightful to watch them proudly take their ESL 1 portfolio home with them to show their parents in China.
I am wondering if a self evaluation is made more or less successful through the questions we ask ourselves or others. I am a firm believer that we need to demonstrate evidence of our self evaluation. I believe that it needs to include both our praise and our awareness for improvement in order to be an honest reflection.
For both semesters, I have been profoundly pleased with my students’ ability, even using limited English, to communicate effectively through this process. As teachers at Rio Lindo Academy, we have been focusing on discovering and implementing ways to make thinking visible for our students. This type of final exam hits the target as far as I am concerned.
The process you describe sounds good. You wonder aloud if “self-evaluation is made more or less successful through the questions we ask ourselves or others.” I believe strongly that a well-placed or well-asked question is one of the keys to the whole thing. I have mentioned this before, but I will say it again — It is better to get something out of someone’s mouth than it is to put it into their ear. Questions can gently invite another person to self-evaluate, especially if we get quieter and wait their responses out, as Suzy reminded us. Thanks for sharing this.