I examine my professional life in my head.
1. I haven't ever had a bonus since 1969 when Father Beelner gave me an extra ten dollars during Holy Week for playing the organ five days in a row for services.
2. Recess teaches kids how to get along. I remember playing hard so we could work hard. It wasn't organized. That was the point. You could make friends and have fun. "Run hard so you'll be ready to work."
3.. Lesson plans seem like play writing. And you have to write 180 plays a year.
4. Wouldn't it be interesting if teachers had a draft like the NFL? Then you could judge me on the type of scores my students achieve. I would pick the kids who would compliment each other. I wouldn't take the "top"-- I'd take the ones that needed a friend.
5. One year I had a very immature group of 4th graders. As a group they couldn't remember if we stayed inside for tornado drills or went outside? It was the same for fire drills-- inside or outside? I did teach them the difference. Thank you, Jesus!
6. My favorite part of working with students was teaching them the love of reading.
7. Some people just don't like school. Some of the people are teachers.
8. Most high school kids don't come to school for the academics. If they learn something, it's icing on the cake of life.
9. Pep rallies can be fun. Or they can be the worse hour of the week. Heck, they can be the worse hour of the year....or they can be the best.
10. Good kids sometimes do really stupid things.
11. When a parent tells a principal that their child would never lie to them, the correct response from the principal is to ask sweetly, "Did you ever lie to your parents?" AND lift one eyebrow.
12. I've never met a kid that didn't hope that "this would be their year."
13. Some teachers have a better communication network than the FBI, the Underground Railroad, the CIA, mafia......his name is David Ruff.
14. An initial investigation is only about half accurate.
15. Making high school kids go to school so early isn't good for anyone. Those little kids like getting up early. High school should run from 10 am until 5 pm. You could have Zombie High from 10 pm until 5 am.
16. I'm an equal opportunity "arrestor"....let the courts decide. I didn't go to law school. Crimes committed on Friday afternoons get double punishment.
17. Parents don't keep the good kids at home. They send us the best they got.
18. Bullies are the sneakiest people with which to deal.
19. Whenever a student threatened to get me in trouble, I would give them my business card and wish them luck.
20. There's nothing better as a principal than watching your seniors march in for graduation....unless it's watching the 9th graders come to the first day of high school.
Just saying.
We had about 5 gifted students cheat on a test. Every parent that came in my office said "my child would never cheat." My response was "I told my neighbor the other day that my dog wouldn't bite, but he is a dog and he has teeth." Our students are under a ton of pressure and they will cheat. Some times they get caught by the teacher.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteStacey, You're absolutely right. Our gifted kids understand that one point can be the difference between an A and a B....B and a C, etc. It's hard for the teachers and the students.
Delete