Teachers should be evaluated on the atmosphere they create in their classrooms and the degree of trust they have established with their students. Several findings from the Schools of Integrity and other research literature support examining both classroom culture and teacher-student relationships.
Classroom culture: The hidden curriculum of a school starts in each individual classroom. Faculty should have the opportunity to discuss their school's hidden curriculum at length, as a whole group, because it will bring them closer to alignment with your school's core ethical values and agreed practice on the ground. Even young students can be aware of the "walk and talk," and how closely we signal that one follows the other. A specific format for considering this as a whole faculty would be the Values Carousel activity, featured in our secondary curriculum. Use a prompt along the lines of "What specific classroom choices demonstrate to your students that honesty is a core ethical value you believe in?" Substitute the word "honesty" for any of the other core values of your school:
- Do teachers make specific choices about the room set up to reflect respect of each individual and of the classroom community?
- Do they demonstrate compassion by setting up a variety of ways for students to