Submitted by Jerry (not verified) on September 24, 2007 - 17:27.
I too thought I was prepared for the job of school principal. I had taken many administrative courses, I had been put in charge of the school when the principal I worked for was out of the building and the school ran well while I was in charge.
Then I got the job. Now it was my decisions that I had to work with not the ones set up by the other principal I worked for. As the fill in I only had to continue the work my principal set up. No one expected me to start anything new. No one who had a complaint would waste their time telling it to me. They knew that I would have to wait for the real principal to decide the issue. Never the less I thought I knew enough. :-)
It didn't take long for me to learn that there is a vast difference between acting and being.
Having said that, I loved the job. I think I really made a difference. The principal of a school is the most important person in that school. He or she sets the tone for the staff, students and parents. My superintendent said to me on my first day, "the job may kill you but never from boredom". no truer words were ever told to me.
Good luck to those of you who are still willing to lead.
Getting ready to be the principal of a school
Submitted by Jerry (not verified) on September 24, 2007 - 17:27.
I too thought I was prepared for the job of school principal. I had taken many administrative courses, I had been put in charge of the school when the principal I worked for was out of the building and the school ran well while I was in charge.
Then I got the job. Now it was my decisions that I had to work with not the ones set up by the other principal I worked for. As the fill in I only had to continue the work my principal set up. No one expected me to start anything new. No one who had a complaint would waste their time telling it to me. They knew that I would have to wait for the real principal to decide the issue. Never the less I thought I knew enough. :-)
It didn't take long for me to learn that there is a vast difference between acting and being.
Having said that, I loved the job. I think I really made a difference. The principal of a school is the most important person in that school. He or she sets the tone for the staff, students and parents. My superintendent said to me on my first day, "the job may kill you but never from boredom". no truer words were ever told to me.
Good luck to those of you who are still willing to lead.