Reacting to Feedback

Being an administrator is a hard job but it is one of the greatest adventures that you could ever have. Each and every day we are blessed to show up at work not knowing what will happen. Between unscheduled meetings with parents, dealing with the insanity of fourteen year olds, and trying to be a good leader, each day has something new to offer, something to teach us. If we can take learn from every day we can always be improving in our roles as educational leaders and be better able to help our students.

 Each interaction can be a positive or a negative learning experience and it all depends on how we react to the situation. I have found that all feedback is good feedback, even when it is hard to hear. A good administrator will be able to handle positive feedback in the same way as negative feedback. Every day as a new principal you are working with adults (Teachers, parapros, other administrators, custodians, community members, parents, etc…) who will tell you how you are performing in your job. It is our job to recognize when and why this is happening and try to use that feedback to change our own practice. If we can continue to learn from each interaction we can continue to grow as educators and leaders.

One of the most important skills to learn is how to interact with parents. Upset parents can give you a huge amount of feedback extremely quickly and you must respond professionally to it at all times. Early this year my mentor administrator said to me that each parent only has the best interest of their child at heart. This statement was extremely eye opening. The advice was a piece of feedback that I needed but in the moment did not want to hear. I always had assumed that parents had the best interest of their child at heart and so I hated being reminded of it. Remembering this ended up being what I needed to improve how I dealt with “tough families.” I have never been a parent and so I don’t know what it is like sitting on the other side of the table, but once I started remembering this while conversing with the family it helped me to understand their point of view. I have now found that when I become frustrated in a situation if I remind myself that the parent loves their child and is trying to help I can find a connection. This connection will allow me work with a parent who I had previously thought was unreasonable. This skill is one that I have been able to take away from feedback which at the time was not pleasant but utterly necessary. It all just depends on how I react to the feedback when it is given. I do not believe any administrator who does not grow from feedback will be successful for a long period of time.

-Erik

Timing and change…

 In a few short months I will graduate with my Master’s degree in an area that I am so passionate about. This has been a goal of mine for so long. It is an exciting personal achievement of mine! Working in education I focused on encouraging my students to set academic goals and develop action plans. I am reminded that “modeling” is one of the great ways in which we teach. During my first year in the program my students loved hearing about my classes and enjoyed laughing that I had homework and tests too! My students knew that I loved education and was a lifetime learner!

My internship experience has given me the fuel to my fire to want to be a principal. I have experienced the overwhelming joy of helping students, families, and teachers in their educational journey. I like to problem solve and evaluate the different opinions presented and make decisions that I feel are in the best interest of those involved.  

This past year I made a very difficult decision. I decided to take some time off from my internship and stay home to be the primary caregiver to my new baby. I had many feelings of guilt…  I worried that I was staying home to help one child, while I could be at work helping 500! Timing and change is hard for me. I feel that being a principal is a lifelong career and right now my excitement, time, and energy is at home with my daughter. I honestly evaluated myself and know that if I was to jump into full time administration I would be concerned of where my time, energy and concerns would be. Would I honestly be there for the students, parents and faculty in my school? Could I give the job the professional attention I feel it needs? I would hate to start into the positon to have faculty, students, and parents feel that I am not ready due to where I know my heart and attention is.

Timing. I love the quote I included in this post. It sums up my feelings perfectly. I know that jobs will always be positing for positions, and when I am ready to step back into the position I will be ready with the time, energy, and dedication the position needs! My internship experience really has shown me the desire I have to become a full time administrator and because of that the timing in which I take on that role needs to be such that I can take it and run with it!

Even though I am wrapping up with my education in our program. I will need to work on staying current and in the loop of education so that I can make the transition back into the field. So even though we are wrapping up with our program we are really never finished... I am a "Lifelong Learner!"
-Alisha 

Self-Awareness and Voltaire

One of the most important characteristics that a school leader can have is visible confidence when problems and stressors are faced.  Early into my time within the ELP program, I recognized that one of the biggest hurdles that I would face would be to not let my anxiety and stress be visible through my body language or words.  It is through conscious focus and experience gained through my internships that I have improved my skills and awareness when facing stressful situations in the school.

I asked for more exposure and experience with stressful situations within a public school setting. I have identified that the problems and conflicts that I experienced being a director of a private school were similar to but different than those that I have been a part of within a public school.  Thankfully my principal advisor was willing and trusted me with more stressful situations.

I have loved learning from my experiences from very delicate situations.  Some of the more serious situations have involved human-relations issues, school culture, departmental culture improvement, programming, and curriculum adjustments.  I have found that being self-aware of my stress and anxiety level has helped how my emotions and body language are being passed along. 

In addition to learning to be more self-aware, I have appreciated a change in my mentality that has helped my visible and internal anxiety.  I have gained a great appreciation for a Voltaire quote that I was told by my principal mentor:  Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.  It is good to have high aspirations but a principal cannot let perfection overshadow the positive growth the faculty, staff, school culture, or the students have made.  It is not only rewarding but healthy to recognize the work and successes that we as school leaders exert and achieve. 

The Scarlet A Is Real

The Scarlet A Is Real

“… she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung in the street for them all to spurn and trample upon.” – The Scarlet Letter

      We have been told, warned, and told again that administration is the loneliest of professions. I’m here to tell you, it’s true… but it doesn’t have to be. As soon as you step in the door as an administrator you are already perceived as being an “other” a “them” before you even get a chance to smile. Teachers no longer talk to you just to get to know you, they talk to you to judge whether you will make it or not.
      As an Assistant Principal you are constantly under a microscope, your every move is watched and it can get in your head. You are left asking questions like “Did I do that right? Was I too hard on the kid? Was I too soft on the kid? Did I maintain that relationship with the teacher? What should I have done differently?” and unfortunately, you really have no one to talk these questions through. Sure you can journal and contemplate, but sometimes you really need to hash this thinking out in a non-judgmental zone.
      The great thing is, we have each other. I never knew how important the friendships I have made in our cohort were until I put on my Scarlet A and became an “Other”. I realize now that we have to stick together as we each crossover. Especially after April when we no longer have classes to attend where we can naturally let it all out. I look forward to maintaining these friendships and see us grow and become the leaders we were trained to be.