• Your treatments of students, classroom language, and demeanor are exemplary. Students feel safe and respected. Instructional time is always fully used.
• Feedback to learners is exemplary.
• Parent contacts have been perfectly balanced and professional; very impressive.
• Very reflective about what students might need and why results may be what they are.
• Strengths:
  • Work ethic and reflective nature – I never doubt that Mr. Karl wants his students to learn and grow. I never doubt that Mr. Karl is reflecting on and considering his own teaching. This is one of his strongest attributes as a teacher.
  • Content knowledge: Mr. Karl is always prepped and knowledgeable about what we are teaching/covering.
  • Rapport with students: Mr. Karl is respected by students and treats all community members with respect and kindness.
  • Classroom demeanor: Mr. Karl is always calm, no matter how students might react.
  • Students sense that the work is serious, that it matters. This is a reflection of Mr. Karl’s consistency.
  • Preparedness: Mr. Karl never arrives at school without a plan or unprepared. I never worry about him “winging it.”

-Erin Fischer-Ballew, Troy High School Mentor Teacher

(Comments collected durring three-way discussions with Oakland University Supervisor)

• Benjamin is extremely professional. He arrives at school at least one hour prior to the start of his teaching duties, is very well prepared, participates in Professional Development and collaborates well with his Mentor and other colleagues in the department. He has a very calming demeanor which has resulted in very little (if any) classroom disruptions or off-task behavior. His calming demeanor in the classroom is reflected in the way his students positively respond to him.
  • Strengths:
    • Professional at ALL times (Attire; punctuality; preparation, presentation, collaboration, feedback)
    • Plans and delivery are very well thought out/tied to State Standards
    • Communicates in a timely fashion
    • Puts students' needs first
    • Wonderful disposition towards Students; (makes them feel comfortable in his classroom)

--Sharon Berlin-Fitzehenry, Oakland University Field Supervisor

(Comments collected from observation feedback)

• He cares more about us learning than us turning stuff in on time which is very nice. He shows that he cares a lot.
• everything. I enjoyed English very very much. Understanding, reasonable and knowledgeable teacher.
• Mr. Karl answered my Schoology messages very quickly (He answered one of my messages two minutes after I sent it). Another thing Mr. Karl did really well was answering our questions regarding the lesson. He made sure that I understood the topic really well and had no further questions on it. The only area of improvement for Mr. Karl that I see is the pace of the material. I understand that it's honors English and the material given is supposed to be taught a bit faster than normal English, but it still seemed a little fast for me. I think that a unit/type of essay per week is maybe a little too much, considering the fact that two of the five days that we spend on the unit/type of essay are used up for taking a test and writing an essay. I would've preferred it if we spent an extra day or two on the lesson instead of immediately jumping into the test. Overall, Mr. Karl was a pretty good teacher.
• Best English teacher ever
• There is no areas where there needs improvement Mr.Karl is a great teacher.
• I think he displayed what needed to get done and how, as a class we would complete that.
• He was very flexible in both class and homework.
• Overall a great teacher and helped a lot when needed! Thank you for being so great! Enjoyed having you as a teacher -your fav student
• He did really well in explaining Hamlet.
• I think the homework assignments were too much at first, as we originally weren’t getting in-class time to work on the packets and it was too much to do in one night with all of our other homework from other classes. However, when we started getting in-class time, it wasn’t as bad.
• I think you connected with the students really well and made the class fun even though it was a lot of work at times, but that’s to be expected since we’re going into AP soon. For improvement, I’d just say to answer students’ questions more precisely because a lot of times we were still a little confused.
• I enjoyed class😊
• You clearly have a passion for literature and teaching! I would say maybe give a little less busywork and have some more engaging assignments. Other than that, I wish you the best on your teaching journey!
• I really enjoyed the general structure that Mr. Karl used to teach us the different concepts. He did an excellent job with planning out our weeks so that we could better grasp those concepts, and that was helpful for me...good luck Mr. Karl! We will miss you a lot; you were a lot of fun and always had high spirits.
• He tried to connect with the students to make the class more enjoyable.
• Helped me understand how to scan a document. Which helped me with other classes!
• What I liked most was his attitude that really put the students at ease. Whether it be laughing or joking around, it was calming to be around Mr. Karl.
• It was clear you put a lot of effort into your lessons and the class as a whole. I liked what you did with it.
• Mr. Karl did a good job with trying to control my class, we were not the most focus nor organized. He did very well with making us understand the content, letting us take control (like in group discussions) and treated us like seniors going into college. Thank you for teaching us and being our teacher for the short time (online and in class). Hannah
• He was very open and kind.
• Mr.Karl was just a great teacher in general, I liked how everyday I went into class and just enjoyed having Mr.Karl as a teacher and to see him act is pretty cool as well.
• He did a good job at being understanding with the assignment and was always willing to extend the assignment's deadline in order for the student to correctly complete the assignment. No areas of improvement that I can think of at the moment.
• Ensuring that we actually learn the content rather than submitting it for a grade was my favorite part.
• I think the way he talks is kinda interesting. It's not necessarily calming, but I never found myself feeling out of place or anxious in his class.
• Amazing in class work, very knowledgeable, made class very fun.
• He was very easy to get in contact with, and also taught the class well. I can' t think of any areas that need improvement
• Mr. Karl cared a lot about the students education
• I think an area that was particularly well done was the was Mr.Karl explained mistakes or tried to understand why a student made a certain mistake.
• I loved that you gave individualized comments for our essays! It was very helpful!
• I think Mr. Karl did a really good job not surpirising the students. There was a schedule each week and everyone knew exactly what to expect going in eveyday. I liked that alot about his class.
• Mr. Karl was very good at keeping the class involved and together. I have nothing bad to say about his teaching ability and him as a person.
• overall very intelligent dude very kind and helpful
• He really showed enthusiasm while teaching and showed that he cared about each one of the students in our class. We will definitely miss him!
• Mr. Karl was good at engaging the class
• He did well with in class activities and getting the class engaged
• he really helped with missing assignments and saw potential even when i didnt put in much work. He taught really well and the way he explained things made them much easier to understand
• Mr. Karl made the class a very welcoming environment where ones learning and personal growth was always pushed and worked hard on
• No he was a excellent well rounded teacher
• He was very good at listening to our questions and comments in socratic seminars and in class.
• He was very into what he was doing, with the voice acting and etc.
• was an overall amazing teacher! hope he can find a permanent teaching position at troy high, he deserves it.
• He cared about students and their learning
• I thought overall communication with Mr. Karl is one of his strongest tools of being a teacher.
• An amazing teacher that helped get more out me.

(All comments collected from an anonymous end-of-experience survey. In some cases students chose to reveal their identity; their last names have been obscured to protect their privacy)