A-Musings

The One About Grace

ach day that I am fortunate enough to get out of bed and go to work, I never think “I wonder how many mistakes I can make today?” or “How can I mess things up today?” I seriously doubt that teachers and students think those things either. However, as the days and weeks go on, we make mistakes and sometimes our decisions aren’t always popular with everyone. So, when those things happen, what do we do? We fix it, right? E

We hope for grace and a little understanding from our supervisor. But do we treat our teachers and staff the same? This past week I had a teacher email me frantic and apologetic, because she was late on turning in a report I had asked for several weeks ago. Even though I didn’t make a big deal out of it and accepted her late work, she still felt the need to send me a couple of follow up emails apologizing for her lateness. Yesterday, she and I were visiting between classes, and she again apologized to me for the late report and thanked me for being understanding. I said, “These things happen. I’ve turned in things late before too, and all I ask is that you give your students the same courtesy.” My hope is that by modeling grace to her, she, in turn will model grace to her students. Do you model the behavior that you want to see? As a building principal, I hope to model for my teachers and staff what I want to see in the classroom and throughout the building. Is your professional development “sit and get,” or do you take the time to plan learning activities that you would want to see when you visit classrooms? Do you greet teachers and students with a friendly smile and tell them you’re glad they are here? Isn’t that how you want teachers to greet students? One of my favorite educators and speakers is Todd Whitaker. In chapter nine of his book Dealing with Difficult Teachers, he writes that as administrators, we should assume that people want to do the right thing. When we believe that people are trying to do the right thing, we should treat them with respect, grace, and kindness. Model what you want to see. After all, we’re all teachers. Contributor: Keri Rathburn Principal, Northside High School Fort Smith School District If you have an amusing, insightful, or unusual story about your experience as an educator or administrator that you’d like to share for our “A-Musings” column, email Amy Manning-McNabb, Communications Manager, at a.mcnabb@theaaea.org.

NEW WEBSITE. NEW APP. STILL THE Voice

FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS.