Educators, in general, work harder than anyone outside of the industry knows, they care more for their profession than the average 9-to-5’er, and are responsible for the future of the individuals they serve. The work-life balance dilemma goes exponentially crazy on you when you move into a principal’s role. Becoming a principal doesn’t somehow mean I am not a teacher. What will keep me sane is spending as much time as possible in the classroom doing what I love – doing what brought me to Education. This week I taught two lessons about the Toots Hibbert under the theme of ‘Integrity’ (nice that I could follow-up with my Teach More Toots blog ). Last week I spent an hour in a PS Maths lesson. This term I’m helping out teaching the science components of a thematic class called ‘Water, Waves and Whales’. Last term, I co-taught a ‘Crash Course to Build a Business’ unit in the High School. Lately, I have redefined my priorities as a principal – and reset my schedule on what I consider to be a non-negotiable principal’s principle – and I’ve made time to re-engage in the practice of classroom teaching. There’s an obvious risk-reward scenario of losing some of the best classroom teachers when they move into an administrative role. I LOVE TEACHING! And let’s be honest, I wouldn’t be here as a Peaceful Pirate Principal if teaching was something I thought was ‘just OK’. One of the hardest parts of being a principal is not spending significant time in the classroom. But when I think of my ‘fundamental truths’ – that foundational definition of who I am – at my core I am a teacher. I’m cool with being 24-7 responsible for everyone in my community. When you’re dealing with the health and safety of a whole community, alongside the responsibility of ensuring children have the opportunity to learn in a happy and challenging environment, in an engaging and meaningful learning program, principles are a must.
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