As I said when I started this blog in June, what I have been writing about thus far is the truth as I see it - hence the largely negative comments about administrators. I would be very much interested in readers writing about the experiences they have had with principals and vice-principals; in the pursuit of balance, I would especially like to hear of administrators that you feel either make or have made your lives better. Simply press on the comment section and leave your thoughts.
Thanks.
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3 comments:
I would teach forever if I could work for a great boss again. The last pricipals I have had were either crazy, too old for the job, control freaks, too ambitious, or some other problem that makes all the teachers want to retire. I had a great boss years ago that said "I am not here to see to it that you do your job. You are all professionals and I have my own job to do." HE was wonderful. I felt respected and I looked forward to work every day. I don't think there are any more principals like that. I would take a cut in pay or work longer hours just to work for someone like that again.
Samantha's experience with the 'great boss' years ago mirrors myt own eperience with Bill, who I wrote about earlier. When you have had an exceptional leader, you can't help but ask why so many of the others are so deficient in comparison.
I tend to agree that it is not likely that one will get such a principal today, given the 'resume builders' who seem to get the administrative positions today.
This is an interesting topic, because I have seen it from both ends of the spectrum. I am a fairly "new" teacher, with only four years under me, but in those four years, I learned a lot about what I expected from my principal. It is easy for us to judge when we are not in their positions, and I try to remind myself that until I experience things from the principal's point of view, I should not truly criticize. One thing I do feel I am allowed to make judgement on, however, is the support that is behind me. My first principal was a very nice person, but had absolutely no ability to be a leader. We never knew what was going on within our district, we were never given a straight answer about anything, and we were never backed up in situations where we needed the help of an administrator. I went through that first-hand when a student threw a chair at me and I was blamed for not understanding what kind of life the child was living at home. I understood it perfectly well, but at the same time, I felt my safety, and the safety of my other students was very important. My current principal is the complete opposite. She knows what's going on and stays on top of things, she talks to us and helps us with whatever we need, she listens to our suggestions, and she backs us up. I will never forget the day she sat with my grade level and said "I've been at this school for eight years, and there's no way I'm going to sit here and watch it go down with society. We are going to keep these kids on the right track, even if it's a battle." I thought those words were so profound because I had never been in the presence of a true leader before. I don't plan on leaving my school as long as she's there!
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