Every Administrator Should Go Back to the Classroom

All classroom teachers have had the thought. Every administrator should go back to the classroom…at least once!

Teachers: Hey, maybe administrators will remember how hard it is! What about how much MONEY we pay out-of-pocket? Or how much TIME (not to mention “BLOOD, SWEAT, and TEARS”!) it takes to run a classroom?

So I did.

For one whole year.

The long, gloomy hallway

As a classroom teacher for 11 years, it was like walking down a long, gloomy hallway to become an Assistant Principal. You know, like the slow grudging walk a student in trouble takes to the office? I was trying to display fortitude in the face of adversity! Surprisingly, my role as AP was different than most. My principal wanted to handle discipline (wait…what*?!?) while I handled the instructional side. I know I got the better end of that deal! Moving from teacher to administrator wasn’t originally in my career path. (You can read about how I never wanted to be an administrator here!)

I worked in a small district-wide Title I elementary school. The rumblings focused budget cuts and eliminating AP positions (which they did). The amount of unusual turnover had me spending more time in prayer. The result? I felt led to take a 3rd-grade position on my own campus when a veteran teacher retired.

The summer before I began teaching, I traveled with my hard-working husband. CAT (catastrophic) insurance adjusters go where the storms blow. We left Texas and spent time in Missouri and Wisconsin. Perfect time for preparation! I spent my motel-time studying teaching manuals, researching the new methods I wanted to try, and planning out the school year.

FOUR things an administrator can learn back in the classroom

• Teachers spend ALOT of their own money. Okay, most of it was my fault. I was so excited to start fresh and design a new classroom I went a little overboard. I bought weighted stability balls for the classroom ($$$). Grants are available, but I didn’t have time to apply! I was teaching four 3rd grade classes. Organization was key! I purchased TONS of color-coordinated plastic containers, new bookshelves, folders, labels, notebooks, glue, and glue sticks, etc. That was just start up! I wish I would have kept track of the amount of money I spent out-of-pocket. I could have purchased a small wood-framed shed with the number of pencils I bought that year! Do parents send supplies? Most all do, and teachers are grateful. We’ve even had years that the district purchased supplies.  Administrators…do what you can to help alleviate expenses for teachers. Teachers still spend ALOT of their own money.

• Teaching is hard work. This is a “no-brainer” for every good teacher out there. Notice I said, “good teachers”. Good teachers are some of the hardest working people I know! They need administrators to recognize this fact and support them in a way that demonstrates understanding. I believe that acknowledgment of effort is the number one reason teachers want administrators to go back to the classroom.

• Take care of your physical bodies.  I got coughed on and shared yucky germs with the entire 3rd-grade! Coupled with the added stress of everything new again plus the lack of sleep, my immune system couldn’t handle the onslaught. If the kids were sick, I got sick. (Note: This was way before COVID-19 and the issuant of masks, distancing, etc.)  Bottom line, teachers…take care of YOU! (Here is an idea for a station I wish I would have read about before that year.)

• A dividing line between administrators and teachers? The line may be faint, dotted, medium, or wide, but it is there. Jubilant about the adventure of teaching again, I didn’t realize it would be awkward for my co-workers. Initially, they didn’t know how to treat me. I discovered later they were waiting to see if I was going to tell them what needed to be changed (e.g. schedules, procedures, etc.). In reality, I was asking them what to do! They finally relaxed when realizing I was too busy trying to make things work in my new sphere of influence.

I discovered I still love teaching…AND I’m still wild about TEACHERS!

God had a plan.

I can’t see into the future, but I know the One who does. My principal, unfortunately, had many health issues that year. A medical leave of absence followed by a resignation opened up the principal position. God was gracious enough to place me in the right place at the right time.

I was fortunate enough to become the new principal on my favorite campus.

Lead joyfully,

Gail Boulton