hardworking and competent, and who teach their students valuable skills
about their subject matter, about succeeding in the real world, and about
learning to get along with all types of people.
A principal is a master teacher and needs to use this skill where appropri-
ate. A principal needs to be proactive, not only with staff and parents, but
with students as well. The transition years are always the most difficult:
the transition from elementary school to middle school, from middle
school to high school, from high school to college. In general, students
have the most difficulty adjusting in grade 6, grade 9, and the freshman
year of college. Many do poorly, and this sometimes has a negative effect
on the rest of their years in the school.
To address these problematic transitions in the middle and high school,
the principal can be proactive and use her skills as a master teacher. Mr.
Thelen tried to address this problem by teaching a lesson to all incoming
ninth graders.
Every September, he visited all the ninth grade English classes. This
visit had several purposes. Mr. Thelen wanted to introduce himself in a
smaller group setting than the opening day auditorium presentation and
wanted to explain how important it was to do well in the first year of
high school. A mini-math lesson on GPA computation illustrated how
a poor ninth year could negatively affect the college application process
four years later. Finally, he explained who these ninth grades should go
to when they needed help with different types of problems. The ladder of
response was described in terms they could understand.
When students felt no one had or could help them, it was time to see
the principal. They needed to understand that a principal is not as skilled
as others in many areas. A principal is not a trained guidance counselor
or social worker. Often, his job is to direct students to the person in the
school who would be able to help them.
All school leaders enjoy such visits and interactions with their students.
They are more than good public relations. They are preemptive defusing
mechanisms, insuring that most problems are handled in-house.
We all know at least one school leader who believes it is healthy to en-
gage in confrontational disagreements. Some of us may have even seen
such disagreements escalate into shouting matches. Such school leaders
Don’t Exacerbate; Defuse 25