Until you have walked in those shoes

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Home : 2002 : October : 30

Until you have walked in those shoes
By Cathy-Dee

You could be completely right in your assessment of your Principal, but until you have actually been in leadership yourself be careful of your thoughts and views on how she is handling her position.

You said you buzzed
the office - is this her office directly or the main office - was the message delivered to her right away - was she even in her office at the time?????? Perhaps she was out of the office at the time and came as soon as she heard your message. You can't assume she was simply doing nothing.
Next time don't ask for her if a child is out of control - ask for anyone's assistance.
Personally

what she wears is really not your business. If she is happy in those clothes, then why not wear them.

I have had to take over on a limited basis from time to time when our Principal is out of the school. After a few days I often have a much greater respect for the job he has to do every day. As teachers we often do not hear about all the parent complaints, staff problems, budget concerns, central office demands, community liasons, meetings and so on that do take up a ton of time for most administrators. The larger a school is the less time the Principal will have to really get to know the kids.

Being a first year teacher you probably have more than enough on your plate to keep you very busy. However I would suggest inviting your Principal into your class for a lesson where your students can interview her and ask her what she does in her job, etc., I'm sure she'd be pleased, the kids will get to know her and you might gain more insight into what she does.

Volunteer to be on school committees where you can also get to know her better. You might just be surprised.