I recently attended a performance of our high school musical, “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” As the high school principal, attendance at such events is mandatory, but as I leafed through the program I reflected on the notion that it didn’t feel like an obligation: I genuinely wanted to be there and was excited about the upcoming performance. I was not disappointed. It was a great show, was an excellent representation of weeks of hard work, and everyone went home happy and satisfied (I assume).
In the after glow of good feelings I started thinking about the kinds of comments one generally hears from folks not connected to such an event. It is important to first think about the latter part of that statement: generally these events are attended only by people “obligated” to attend: parents of the actors, friends of the parents of the actors, friends of the actors, administrators, etc. You know what I mean. The assumption by outsiders is that high school musicals, plays, concerts, etc. are not of “professional” quality and therefore not worthy of their patronage. I have to admit that I have probably felt this way as well. I am guilty of making that assumption.
I am not going to pretend or try to promote attendance at high school events. They cannot compete with Hollywood, professional theater, etc., nor are they meant to. They are, like everything we do in education, part of the process of learning and being educated. What I felt struck by after the performance was the same feeling I used to get as a teacher when I came across a well-written essay, a profound point expounded in and exam, an amazing insight scribbled in a student journal…I was in the presence of growth, discovery, and learning. I was watching student learning…it was there on stage being presented to me in real time. I had never realized that before and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I am definitely going to have to give this more thought and get back to you. I have stumbled upon something important in my own understanding about education and am definitely interested in hearing what others think about this.
Enjoyed working with my colleagues in Managua this past week. We accomplished a lot and had some good presentations regarding professional development. A lot of the same issues as in the past were raised; the discussions vary and I always come away from them with excellent information and new perspectives. I felt very supported when I presented my idea for a video/tech event for next year. I am currently working with Steve, our ed tech guy, on fleshing out the details and then the fun begins: we get to plan the event. We are very excited. Our work will include a lot of research (to keep it in line with similar events throughout the US), developing rubrics, deciding on themes, planning the filming trips, etc.
I introduced the gang to twittering. Many of them already knew about it, obviously, but I gave them tools such as tweet deck and spent some time explaining why they should twitter and the kind of value they could get from it. I don’t expect they will all jump on board, so as I have been finding cool articles I have simply been emailing the URL’s to them instead of simply sending out a tweet.
I wish I had had the chance to explore Nicaragua. Managua itself is not an impressive city. Sad in many ways. But my sense is that Nicaragua has much to offer. I liked visiting the American school and especially enjoyed a visit and dinner at St. Augustine, a relatively new school that is doing quite well. The owners hosted the dinner and gave us the grand tour. Very impressive.
I often forget and then am suddenly reminded that, as principal, I am considered intimidating or scary. I don’t think of myself as anything but friendly, open, approachable…but then suddenly there is some shuffling outside my door followed by a pause and then a timid knock. It is a terrified student (or, more likely a group of students–strength and courage in numbers) acting as if what they are about to ask or say is the riskiest thing they have ever done. They hem and haw and it is clear their fear is genuine. These same kids, not 5 minutes ago, could have been smiling and saying hi to me in the halls, sharing a joke with me, but now they are facing The Principal and it is completely different. I now understand their bewilderment and confusion afterwards. You see, I don’t change character, even when I am The Principal. I try to maintain my same demeanor, tone, and level of interest. I don’t joke or try to make light of the situation, but I also don’t shift into disciplinary mode or stern mode or whatever. I close the door if the situation warrants, but for the most part I try to let them see that I’m the same person I was 5 minutes ago, only now I’m being called upon to make a decision, pass judgement, or whatever. I understand that situations require differing sets of skills, but I reject the assumption that principals must play pre-determined, stereotypical roles for given situations. The confusion kids feel is based on the assumptions they make about adults and probably based upon past experiences.
Spring break is right around the corner…