Jennifer Gonzalez Asks Teachers: What Makes a Principal Great?
Guest post by Jennifer Gonzalez.
Two separate conversations are happening about education. The first I would call the "macro" conversation. I see it in places like this blog, where we debate reform, testing, and all the outside forces that impact the work teachers do. This is a crucial conversation to have and keep having.
But there's another one, the "micro" conversation, where individual teachers talk about their experiences in their specific schools. And though these teachers are discouraged and exhausted by the macro-level changes, those I talk to don't have much to say about Arne Duncan or the Gates Foundation. Most don't have time to keep up with that stuff. Way more often, they talk about their principals.
In every "micro" conversation I've had, the job satisfaction of the teacher is directly proportional to the effectiveness of their administrator. "She makes me despise my job," one teacher said about her principal. "She's a bully with everyone. She's insecure in her ability and then attacks if you question or offer advice." Another teacher says, "It's like he just can't get enough. I feel like all I ever do, at school and at home, is work. And it's never enough. My friends in other schools don't have it nearly this bad."
On the macro level, principals are rarely mentioned. I've read a few stories about brave principals who stood up for their teachers against harmful reforms, or some who have been ousted by radical parent groups, but I hear nothing about the day-to-day impact principals have on their teachers. It's as if there's a direct line that starts with reformers and government entities and ends with teachers. But along the way, in every district and every school, administrators bend that line, and the small,