1This sounds simple, but it is of paramount importance. People, whether
they are students, parents, teachers, or any of the other members of a
school’s staff, pay far more attention to what you do rather than to what
you say. They will pay more attention to what you say if they respect
what you do.
When you take on a leadership position, it is important that you try
to make a positive impact on the lives of the teachers you supervise and
on the instruction of the students you are responsible for. If this impact
improves instruction, so much the better, for you will present yourself as
a role model in this key area. As you move into a position, analyze the
department or school. What can you do quickly to make an improvement?
The following anecdote illustrates this principle.
Mr. Thelen, an experienced teacher at an inner-city high school, began
his career as an assistant principal of supervision mid-year, at the begin-
ning of the spring semester. He knew he would be the “interim acting” as
early as November. As his scheduled classes ended by noon, his principal
released him in the afternoon during December and January to meet his
new staff, organize his office, and learn what his principal expected.
His new department was composed of good teachers who lacked
focus. The department was currently under the negligent supervision of
the social studies assistant principal. Mr. Thelen was told that prior to
this time, the department had been left to its own devices by an assistant
principal who sat in her office and fell asleep under an open copy of
the New York Times. He could not determine if this were the truth or a
school myth.
Chapter One