Thursday, December 9, 2010
Why do it?
I greatly enjoyed the conversation and sharing of our December 3 meeting. However, it also reminded me of the stress and tangled problems that come with administrative work (I currently teach 5th grade, but I used to be Head of Upper School). I am looking into rejoining the administrative ranks. I am, therefore, curious to know the reasons (besides the impact on the paycheck) that you decided to go into administration. Also, with all the pressure and difficulties of the job, what keeps you going? In other words, wouldn't you rather be teaching? I would like to hear what you have to say.
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Tim,
ReplyDeleteYou've been waiting long enough for an answer to this essential question! (And I've been waiting for a window of time in which to answer it, for myself as much as for you -- since asking myself the same questions is a big piece of why I'm in the group in the first place.)
To be completely honest, I think I decided to go into administration at least partially because I have a fundamentally bossy/controlling personality. From my earliest days as a teacher, I found myself thinking I knew how things should be done and entertaining the grandiose delusion that I could run the show better than whoever was running it. Ha!
The more positive version of that is I started to have a vision of how things should/could be, and I wanted to make it happen. Of course, I had no idea how complicated it would be, thanks to the complexities of supervision and human relations that dominated our discussion on Dec. 3, and the endless overload of competing demands that have dominated other discussions. But when you bring a long-discussed change to fruition, and the results are good, it's pretty exhilarating. When you make a decision that you know is wise, that puts the ball in the court of what you know is right for kids, for a teacher, for good teaching, it's pretty exhilarating. When you can say no to something that really shouldn't be happening because it isn't good for kids or it flies in the face of what the school stands for, it's pretty satisfying.
You can advocate for kids and good teaching as a teacher, but you have a wider scope of influence as an administrator. That isn't meant to sound like a power trip.. .
If you thrive on challenge, particularly in the personal growth category, administration offers an endless supply.
When it's going well, or you've had enough moments of feeling competent and effective in the last week, however small they may be, it can keep you coming back for more.
Honestly, much of what keeps me going is the kind of thing I'd have a lot more of if I were teaching -- small interactions with kids, big interactions with kids--and when I don't get enough of it, and the rest feels too hard, you bet I'd rather be teaching. But helping parents, empowering teachers, working with the big picture can be a good bonus.
Some thoughts toward an answer, anyway.
Rebekah:
ReplyDeleteThank you. That is all very helpful and, truly, encouraging. I am also attracted by the opportunity to have influence on a bigger scale (and I will also own up to being a control freak; it comes with being a teacher, I think). I had not thought that it could be exhilarating, though I can see that.