Monday, February 23, 2015

The Principal and The Boy With The Cell Phone


The Principal began his PD address with a story of the day he left his office.

"There was a day I had to leave my office to attend to matters on the third floor.  Since this does not happen very often I lost my way back.  While wandering the halls I came across a young Caucasian man leaning on window sill on a cell phone.  I asked the young man where he belonged and he told me to be quiet.  He was talking to his friend.  I repeated my request and again he told me to wait and asked me if I ever talked to friends.  He then went on to tell me to be respectful.  Finally he got off the phone and we could chat.  I again asked him where he belonged and he told me the class he should have been in.  I walked him back to class and told the teacher to let him in.  I waited at the back door and watched, ready to write the teacher up for not handling the situation properly.  I saw the teacher say something, saw the boy start to cry.I walked away.  Now I must decide whether to write the teacher up for verbal abuse or for not taking proper action or both.  Our students must learn to respect our authority and we must earn it and then demand it.  We as a staff have a long way to go."

I heard the story and wondered why the Principal did not confiscate the phone and take the boy to his office and call a parent.  At the very least I wondered why he did not bring the boy to the dean or guidance.  I wondered why the poor teacher was being dumped on again.  I wonder when the Principal will start earning the respect of the students and the staff.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like discipline in my school . The kids are always right .

We Must Dissent said...

What sort of principal proudly admits that he spends so little time out of his office (or at least in certain parts of the building) that he gets lost?

Bronx ATR said...

That entire scenario is fiction. I don't know of any principal anywhere that would allow a student (or teacher) to tell him/her to wait while finishing their phone call. If the kid had the nerve to do that to the principal, there's no way he's going break down and start crying because the teacher said something to him. The story is meant to exemplify the tolerance of the principal and intolerance of the teachers.

Pissedoffteacher said...

From what I heard, the part about the boy and the Principal is true. And, the story is an exaggeration, but of the truth. The Principal did not get lost or admit to never leaving his office. It is truly hard to believe the things that go on in some schools.