Dear Teacher Turned Principal,
I've never been a principal, but through the years, I have met with several principals from different schools to discuss literacy needs. In doing so, I have been given the opportunity to see administrators through a lens most teachers never get to see. When I enter a principal’s office, I pay close attention to how the space is decorated. It doesn’t take long to see where the principal’s passions lie.
Typically, within five minutes, I can tell the sports team they root for, how much they love their families, and their vision for the school. Not always, but the vision is typically in the form of a quote plastered in a prominent place. I like paying attention to these small details because they help me see the school leader as a person just like me, just like you. When I do this, it allows me to understand they have the same fears teachers do, after all they are teachers too. This year I see a weariness in principals I have not seen in my 18 years of teaching. Like teachers who don’t know how to make life better for students enduring a global pandemic, principals don’t know how to make life better for teachers.
I remember reading the Grapes of Wrath many years ago with my students and discussing how Pa Joad was the thoughtful and intentional leader of the family, but when the Dust Bowl ravaged Oklahoma, he became weary. He knew he couldn’t stay on the familiar land that was now rejecting him, so with thoughtful consideration, he mapped out a road map that would get his family safely to California- a bountiful land that promised opportunity. However, with every turn and set back, the journey became harder. Along the way, he began to lose his sense of purpose.
I feel like this is happening to administrators all over the country. The dust keeps coming and the truck keeps breaking down.
For those who have read the novel, it’s a depressing narrative no matter how you spin it. Maybe this year is too, but what I love about the ending is that Pa Joad never gives up. He loses family members and nearly starves to death, but he keeps fighting the swift current of defeat. I think most administrators are doing the same this year.
To individuals who may not understand all of the intricacies of leading a school, it is easy to point fingers and judge a leader’s approach, but being the driver of a vehicle that’s almost out of gas with an unsteady destination and eight needy travelers is a stressful, scary, and lonely place.
As educators, maybe the best we can offer school leaders right now is a willingness to say, “I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. Thank you for driving. What can I do to help?”
-CDB
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