NEGOCIACION DE UNA OPERACION DE CREDITO ESQUEMA DEL PROCESO

THE PRINCIPAL PRESENT)

Framing: shaping and managing information. I have framed and shaped the test result information in a couple of different ways. The goal of this meeting was to share the results but not to publicly humiliate any teacher who scores did not meet up to the rest of the grade level. Certain aspects accomplished that aim; others did not. Specifically, each teacher got a folder with the grade level graph, their own graph by grade level comparison, and their students’ results. For the grade level graph, each teacher was assigned a letter and then a sticky note with that letter was put on the inside of each folder, so only the teacher getting the folder would know who they were on the graph when it was projected. In addition to shaping it to protect teachers’ feelings, I also shaped it using colors in the graphs. High scores were shaded green, average scores were shaded yellow and below average scores were shaded red –obviously these colors have their own gravity and emotional weight without being associated with test scores but this palate was preferred by the principal who asked me to make all score graphs this way. While the colors provide a very clear message, when they are coupled with test results, they can either elevate (green equals “All clear! You can go on!”) or deflate (red equals “Danger! You need to stop!”) the teachers seeing them.

Scripting: planning the performance. I am confident in my discussion of the information because I have assembled it and created the PowerPoint slides to facilitate the discussion. I have even inserted a moment of levity, which shows the confidence I have with the material (“a wonderful chart that looks like this”). Unfortunately, this is ill-timed and does not connect with the audience –including the other member of the performance team, the principal at the other end of the table. This provides the only real moment of pause with the word “kay?” It is at that moment that I recalled the pre-

performance conversation with the principal about keeping the tone serious during this meeting.

Rhetorical Devices: use of metaphors, analogies, stories, sensory language. I do not use any figurative language devices during this performance, but I do try to infuse humor into the script (“a wonderful chart that looks like this”) to make a connection with the audience members. In essence, I attempt to take on the character and rhetorical cadence of a game show host as I hold up the chart (as if to dryly say, “Look what you’ve won”). Unfortunately, this brief character shift does not fit the image of the administrator “self” that is expected by the audience members in the room, so I quickly retreat into the expected character and adjust my language use accordingly.

Casting: characters in the performance, protagonists, antagonists. I considered the other characters in the performance to be protagonists. I did not expect that they were going to be antagonistic about any of the information that they were going to receive, but I was prepared for them to express emotions ranging from sadness to elation when they saw their scores. The principal was a performance team member as well as a potential protagonist and antagonist –depending on how I performed. When I

delivered my lines as expected (and reflecting the tone she expected), she was a

protagonist; however, whenever I deviated from that expectation, I perceived her to be a possible antagonist –even though I realize that antagonism was not her intention. As the assistant principal, I deliver lines for the administrative team in certain meetings, and this means that my voice actually speaks for two unified voices. In this performance, the principal was present to ensure that my “self” was in the right character and delivering lines to meet that expectation.

Directions and Staging: physical appearance, props, setting. The setting for the meeting was very deliberate. The principal and I decided to have the 2nd grade teachers meet in the front office conference room –rather than their team planning room—in order for them to understand the gravity of our discussion. I am wearing a black polo shirt with the school name and “Administration” embroidered on it. I wore this because the meeting was taking place with teachers only; therefore, I could be more casual with my costuming. This also reflects the tone of collaboration and partnership with the teachers as we discuss the testing results. While I have amassed the information and created the folders and PowerPoint slides, I wanted to emphasize an air of mutual work –even though we are in the front office conference room. A shirt and tie might have created a divide between the teachers and me.

Impression Management. I am not employing exemplification in this

performance; however, I am using promotion in a subtle way. I want the teachers to see that I created the contents of the folder and know explicitly how they function. I also want the principal to see this, as well. That is why I take my time explaining that “in your folder, you will get the following….” I want a little acknowledgement for my work

putting the graphs and the folders together, so I promote my efforts by showing how much I know about those graphs and what they show. Panel four shows me using face work to put an expected “self” back in place. As aforementioned, I stepped into a humorous “self” and let the mask of administrator “self” slip slightly to present the “wonderful chart”. I had to quickly put that mask back on and reengage with the expected script –in the expected tone.

Improvisation. The line “a wonderful chart that looks like this” was an

improvised line delivered by an improvised character (game show host) with the intention of bringing levity into the meeting. Going through the documents was a humorous task in my eyes because paper and colored ink were being paraded before the teachers like they were prizes –as if to say, “Look at this wonderful gift we’ve created for you!” Therefore, I thought I would briefly slip into that character. That moment of

improvisation fell flat on its face when it met the blank (perhaps disapproving) faces of the teachers and the principal around the table.

Act III, Scene 2: Handling a Question at the Testing Result meeting with 2nd grade teachers

Table 7

VERBAL TRANSCRIPTION: FINISHING THE REVIEW OF THE TESTING RESULTS

WITH 2ND GRADE TEACHERS (WITH THE PRINCIPAL PRESENT) AND TAKING A

QUESTION FROM A TEACHER

(Stage directions: the actors, one male Assistant Principal, five female teachers, and a school principal, are seated around a large, dark rectangular table in a conference room. All of the actors are seated in faux leather chairs that roll. The male AP and the teachers are seated at one end of the table while the principal is at the other end. A very big electronic Activboard is turned on behind the man and is projecting a colored bar graph. There is a round woven basket with a tilted red cup in the middle of the table. There is also a cup of tea, a tape dispenser, and a folder on the table. It is summertime during the morning of post-planning at the end of the school year.)

Character Words Actions

Me all the different elements there. (looking down and to the right as left hand clips paper between thumb and two fingers and right hand sweeps

down the paper)

All right, so that’s how that goes. (putting the paper down on the table using both hands)

Teacher 2 Um, Quick question (hands come down and gaze comes