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The effective
and reflective
principal
A longtime principal says the best, and perhaps only, aim is always to work
toward the best possible environment, support, and standards for teaching
and learning.
By John M. Ritchie
Reflecting on a long career in education, most of it spent as a high school principal, some as a superintendent, Im struck now by how often I was sustained in my work by a simple line that I read long ago in
an Emily Dickinson letter: The Sailor cannot see the North but knows the Needle can.
On countless occasions, I felt lost in a sea of complex challenges, conflicting expectations, and vexing
problems compounded by expectations that the principal always knows what to do. I came to rely more
than anything else on my own compass to guide me. It took time probably three years at least to develop a set of core beliefs, or principles, that served as a steadying and even buoying grounding for all my
endeavors. These principles, this compass, didnt give me answers; rather they provided guideposts that
gave me confidence that I was on a right path, even if the path was through deep woods or over open water.
Knowing your core beliefs and having reliable operating principles ends up being critical when negotiating the tricky waters of school leadership in a manner that is consistent and purposeful.
I have notebooks full of advice that Ive collected over the years: tips, mantras, cautions, and quotations
appropriate for any occasion. I sometimes share bits of this list with principals Im coaching or mentoring.
For example, the always useful reminder that When youre the principal, theres no such thing as a casual
comment. But specific advice is of limited and usually only particular value. Any new principals main goal
should be to build or develop a reliable compass (and any veteran principals main goal should be not to
lose it). This process takes time and patience, and benefits tremendously, if painfully, from the flinty lessons of mistakes and missteps.
My own principles of operation my own compass had less to do with educational vision than with
attitudes, behaviors, and modes of operation. I learned to focus less on strategies for solving problems than
on habitually consistent and thoughtful ways of approaching them. Many of my main principles involved
how I conceived of the school and the people in it, rather than how to reach particular goals or resolve
specific dilemmas how always to treat the people I worked with and served with respect; the reciprocal
JOHN M. RITCHIE (ritchiejohn115@gmail.com) is a consultant and a former teacher, principal and superintendent living in Newton, Mass.
18
Kappan
May 2013
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The Sailor cannot see the North but knows the Needle can.
Emily Dickinson
value of trying to be an engaged listener, even when (or especially when) confronted with
anger and unhappiness; a steady practice of noticing and appreciating others when they do
well, in authentic rather than contrived ways.
I tried also to be guided by the recognition that school is a time when students are supposed to make and learn from mistakes and that, while consistent discipline is important,
punishment alone doesnt lead to learning and rarely leads to behavior change. The principal
is stereotypically seen (and judged) as the disciplinarian-in-chief. But he or she must also
occasionally be the chief dispenser of mercy and kindness, which is a difficult and sometimes
risky balance to strike.
Many constituencies
Following ones compass headings is the best way to avoid one of the most common traps
that invariably tempts or distracts leaders of any organization: The tendency to believe that
success is measured by the ability to meet everyones expectations. Principals simultaneously serve many constituencies: parents, students, teachers, the community, central office.
Each has its own needs and expectations, and they often collide. Trying to meet everyones
expectations is a fools errand, and it takes a great deal of fortitude not to forget it. Paradoxically and thankfully, one often meets the most valuable and important expectations by
not trying to meet all of them.
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Being a principal was an immensely rewarding, enjoyable, and entertaining career, though it is
a cold fact that every principal will face dark and
tough times, deal with tragedy, make painful decisions about cutting valuable programs, and conduct
difficult conversations with students, teachers, or
parents. The principalship is often a draining job,
and there is always the danger of psychic exhaustion that results from being at the center point of a
school, where the No. 1 requirement seems to be to
do more, listen better, and be more places than any
person could ever do or be.
Kappan
May 2013
kappanmagazine.org
21
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