principal can't relate

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Home : 2003 : September : 13

principal can't relate
By Carolyn

No offense intended to principals who read this, but I think that principals, specialists, and those administrators from the district office have forgotten what it's like to teach in a classroom. Also, my principal is wonderful,
in that she understands curriculum needs so well, but she doesn't understand completely what MY students need. Only you really know your students, since you have the most day-to-day interaction with them. My principal told me, for example, after she did a "snapshot" observation that maybe I didn't need to teach the kids how to add and subtract with decimals. Well, maybe I did,

considering that they couldn't seem to remember to line up the decimals properly and that teaching decimals, including the addition and subtraction of decimals, is a state standard. I just told her later than it was necessary, and that I had already given the kids a pretest on the material,and most didn't do it correctly.

I think that your principal probably doesn't have the time to come in and "check up on" you all of the time to see what you are actually doing. If it were me, I'd do what works best for your kids. As long as you can justify what you do in your classroom each day, I don't think your principal should have any problem with it.

I was once given suggestions for teaching my students by a former primary level teacher who is now a "literacy coach." I didn't think the suggestions would work for my fifth grade students, but I didn't say anything to her. I just kept doing it the way I saw fit. I had also consulted with another teacher whose judgment I respected, and she agreed that the coach's suggestions were off base for our kids.

In answer to your question, I think it's too much when it DOESN'T work for your children, and you really have the gut feeling that it won't work.