boxing gloves would be hanging up ready for use. The threat was enough
to ensure compliance.
Many years later as an educator, Mr. Thelen remembered the impor-
tance for a school to have an authoritarian figure, the one person no stu-
dent ever wanted to see. At his high school, this was Mr. Flint, assistant
principal of security. Instead of having boxing gloves, he read the penal
code to students. Instead of having an athletic trophy, he had the youth of-
ficers from the local precinct speak to certain students about the possible
legal penalties for their transgressions. He always contacted parents. He
dangled the threat of transfer to another school.
He often suffered from Dean’s Syndrome, but as he was not the final
authority, students and parents could see the principal to resolve matters
(see chapter 2). Every principal needs to find the true authoritarian in
his school and then use him or her as such. It will prevent a multitude of
potential discipline issues and give the principal more time to devote to
instructional matters.
Lest the reader come away with a false impression of this authority
figure, it must be added that much of Mr. Flint’s modus operandi in-
cluded humor. One time he was interviewing two students who had been
involved in a “he said, she said” altercation. They were each explaining
themselves, contradicting themselves and one another, and telling obvi-
ous lies. Mr. Flint listened patiently. Then, he stood up, walked over to a
small mirror attached to a locker just in back of his desk, and proceeded
to spend one minute looking at himself. The students stared at him and
one another, wondering what was going on. Suddenly, Mr. Flint turned
and faced the students and said, “Do I look stupid? I don’t think I look
stupid, but you must think I do. Why do you think I look so stupid?” After
a minute or so, the two students, not realizing this was all an act, told the
truth about the incident.
The stories of Mr. Flint’s various acts are now part of the legends of the
school. Mr. Thelen knew that underneath his gruff exterior was a caring
professional who often took the most difficult students under his wing
and, working with their parents and teachers, helped them turn it around
and graduate.
A principal relies on assistant principals and key staff members. He can
try to commit the multitude of applicable laws and regulations to memory,
but why do this if there are others who can handle 99 percent of the issues
Maximize the Positives; Minimize the Negatives 127