Stuck in the Classroom

I had a teacher come to me and ask if she could get some advice on moving into administration. "I need to make more money," she said. I told her not to get into adminitration then. "Yes, you'll make more money, but you'll lose time and gain stress that isn't soothed by the daily miracles you see in the classroom," I replied.

I see numbers. You see souls.
I see the product. You see the process.
I see the plan. You see the players.
I see the whole. You KNOW the individuals.

I'm in the so-called leadership position on my campus. What a bunch of poo! That's right. Poo! For those who feel "stuck in the classroom" read the quote below. (I did steal this from my brother's blog www.pastorjeffflowers.com).

You can buy a person's time; you can buy their physical presence at a given place; you can even buy a measured number of their skilled muscular motions per hour. But you cannot buy enthusiasm. You cannot buy initiative. You cannot buy loyalty. You cannot buy the devotion of hearts, minds, or souls. You must earn these. - Clarence Francis

In a way I feel like the former described in the quote. While I don't directly pay teachers, I do require their time, presence, and skills. But it is the latter that is real leadership. It is what the teachers are doing in the classrooms that earns the devotion of hearts, minds, and souls. Real leaders see those that they lead grow and expand well beyond their teachers. And isn't that why you got into teaching in the first? To get students well beyond where they ever imagined they thought they could be.