One of the most interesting aspects
of my experiences as an intern assistant principal is that I never know what
will happen at school. Yesterday I walked through the doors with one meeting and
a fire drill scheduled, followed by ten teachers that I needed to speak with before the
end of the day. These were my three goals, did I actually accomplish them all?
No. I went 1.5 for 3, the .5 is because I sat in on half the meeting before
being called out of the room. It isn't that I didn't try to get everything
done, it’s just that something else came up each time. On this particular day
it was a visit from the University Neighborhood Partners, an ambulance visit
for a student with a concussion, and a substitute teacher who seemed to think
students were out of control when they left their seats to sharpen a pencil. Every
day is like this. There is always something to do and somewhere to be.
At
first I hated this. It honestly made me feel completely unsuccessful. I felt
like I was never able to fully finish something. As a teacher I could sit down
and work through any problem, and usually in one sitting. As an administrator
you don’t have the luxury. This has been a huge challenge because even though
you are distracted from a task you have to finish whatever you start. The key
is the ability to pick up where you left off like nothing happened, a good
battle face is required for this. No matter what happens to have to seem
unphased. It doesn't matter if a student swore at you or a teacher just had a
break down in their classroom, when you leave the situation, nothing out of the
ordinary just happened.
I think
that this is a skill that you have to develop, and it will take time. I now
feel a sense of accomplishment when I can hold my battle face through a tough
meeting or interaction. A good administrator should be in control no matter
what the situation is. As I go through this journey I realize how important
this is more and more. When you can’t predict your day you have to be able to
predict your reactions or you will always be fearing what will happen next.
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