3 Lessons For Teachers from a Book made for Principals

I have a confession to make. 

For a long time, I had a serious mistrust of other educators who chose to go into administration. I just could not understand why they would go to the other side. Why be a principal? More money? More power? More respect? How could they “leave” the kids?  As a teacher of almost twenty years, I know I’m not the only teacher who felt this way. 

Then, I became a department manager. The teacher leader: a tricky position that straddles the teaching and admin worlds. For years I was tasked with translating the goals and intentions of administrators to other teachers in my building, but I could never get it right. What I liked most about reading What Makes a Great Principal are the ways I knew it would help teachers understand the admin in their life. While the book may not be intended specifically for teachers, there were so many sections I wanted to rip out and pass around the faculty meeting. 

Below you’ll find a little preview of just a few of the lessons I will be sharing with my own teacher circle.

Make the meeting worth the time

As teachers, our outlook calendars are littered with meetings. Meetings we say could have been emails. However, I was reminded by this book that administrators don’t, on the whole, want to meet just for the sake of it. They want to see our faces and hear our voices.They need our input to make the best decisions for the campus. Therefore, if we aren’t giving honest input, how can we expect them to make good decisions.

What if we teachers truly thought of every meeting as an opportunity to give feedback? So many times I see teachers sit quietly in meetings and then unload all of their thoughts about it at the happy hour after school. Feedback isn’t insubordination. If you’re invited into a space, you have as much right to give input as anyone else there. First year teachers to 30 year vets, administrators need to hear our voices and unique points of view. So take advantage of the face time and tell them what you really think! 

Show Don’t Tell 

What Makes a Great Principal made me think about how teachers and administrators, when working toward a goal, sometimes speak two different languages. Principals tend to be tethered to the finite: budget, calendar, staffing, etc. Whereas teachers often speak in the conceptual: ideas, culture, feelings. It is my belief that these account for a majority of the miscommunications and mistrust between the two groups.   

For teachers, a principal’s decisions can be the difference between a great day and a fire in a trashcan. So, we need to learn to communicate in a way that they understand and that will get results. 

We all know the amount of factors going into an administrator’s decision are dizzying. So, appealing to them with finite details is more effective than wide generalizations. My suggestions when communicating with admin are: put it in writing, show up with solutions, and present the data. For example, let’s say your schedule feels imbalanced and the mixture of kids in your 3rd period class is a classroom management disaster.

 Instead of saying “I really need some kids moved out of my third period. The class is just too wild.” Consider trying “I looked at how my 3rd period is performing compared to the others and they are lagging behind by at least 5 points. The combination of the class makes it difficult for me to serve each child so I think moving Johnny, James, and Jamila to 5th period would help me give them the small group attention they need.” Administrators want to help teachers be the best we can be, but they need to hear your solutions as much as your problems.

Lead new teachers with purpose 

What Makes a Great Principal puts a huge emphasis in defining what true leadership looks like at the campus level. Heads up! If you’re an established teacher on your campus, you are already leading. Your energy, attitude, and actions are being followed and emulated by those in your teacher circle. We aren’t a “top down” type of organization, yet who do teachers run to with concerns? Other teachers! Every educator on your campus has someone they use as a measurement of what is acceptable or admirable. They might text the group chat, show up on your conference period, or maybe just slip in a question between classes. 

Every one of us is in a position to be a leader on campus. So I challenge you: take a minute to think about the message you’re sending new teachers with your words, attitude, and actions. Where are you leading them? 

So, that’s just a taste of what this teacher gathered from the book for principals. I encourage you to read it for yourself and see what’s going on in the walkie-talkie set. I promise not to hold it against you if you decide to join them. 

-Abby Ramos Stanutz