Friday, July 27, 2012

To the Administrators of the Several High Schools

Despite the warring concerns which many principals have, that the students will not receive an adequate education if they are sent out of class for several reasons, teachers need to know and believe that they are supported.

In two instances, nay four, I can recall the surge of relief that I received when I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was supported by the administrative staff.

For one thing, by letting the teacher know that he or she will win if there is a conflict, you ensure a greater degree of respect and safety not just for the teacher, but also for the rest of the class. Deep down, most students want a teacher who will expect them to learn and expect respect from everyone.

The Director of Pupil Services -- the administrator who expels the really bad students -- had told me and the other substitute teachers that we must do the best that we can to avoid conflict of any kind. "If there has to be a show-down, the teacher has to win and the student has to lose, and that means that we all lose."

I could not disagree more with such a fatuous observation. Students need to lose once in a while. They need to learn that the world is not going to fall apart if they fail, if they lose face in front of their peers. The notion that teachers and schools must go out of their way to protect the fragile egos of young people is the very efforts which is stunting these young people from making it in the world.

At Los Padrinos, the assistant principal told me plainly, in front of all the students, that she supported me 100%! When a probation staff member had confronted and shamed me in front of the other students, I learned the hard way -- and for the last time -- that I must never permit a staff member to dishonor me in front of students ever again.

The assistant principal at Los Padrinos was the best administrator whom I ever worked with. Her support for me was legendary, in large part because most APs and principals seek to protect themselves at the expense of everyone else, especially substitutes who are "here today, easily to dispose of tomorrow."

I cannot stress enough the importance of teacher support from administrators. A leader at a school site must go out of his or her way to make things work out for the teacher and the students. If a principal cannot do the most to make things all for the best for the teacher, then that person must go back to the classroom, and not look back.

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