Principals have no control over paychecks. But, they do have control over something important-RESPECT!
It is sad how few of them learned this. Only today a friend told me about his wife's principal, a man who made his teachers spend every minute in meaningless meetings instead of giving them the time they needed to set up their classrooms. The worst are the ones who insist on moving teachers from room to room each year, forcing them to pack and unpack every year. They think nothing of having the teacher spend the last days of their summer break working. It is no wonder these teachers resent being asked to do anything extra.
One of the things I love best about the college I now work in is the respect given to the teachers, even the adjuncts, by the people in charge. We were asked to attend a meeting last week and then thanked several times for showing up. Those who couldn't make it, where admonished. Instead, time was made to catch them up on the stuff they missed. Apologies were offered for the extra work we were asked to do and we were thanked for doing it. While no one wants to do the extra work, the work is done anyway, and done well.
Presentation and attitude counts quite a bit. With school starting next week, I hope Principals realize teachers need time to organize lessons, make copies, and get things in order. Hopefully they will be able to spend time doing this instead of sitting in meetings looking at data.
