OK, so I know this is not really the point of the book but I can't help but comment on this. I was reading page 22 where it talks about managers and the way they treat their job and employees. I found myself comparing them in some ways, though not all, to principals. I especially thought this when I read "Mostly, in the restaurant business, they are former cooks still capable of pinch-hitting in the kitchen, just as in hotels they are likely to be former clerks. But everyone knows they have crossed over to the other side." I see the managers much like principlas. At one time they were teachers too. Maybe it is just my principal but I think they quickly forget what it is like to be in the classroom. They forget that you are dealing with more discipline in the room than you are ever sending to the office. They forget that you really know your children and many times can predict what they will do before they ever do it. They forget that "Hello, how is your day going?" when they walk by you in the hall is the way you treat human beings. (Can you tell I've had enough?) I have a good friend that is graduate student on a Principal Fellows scholarship. I remind her constantly to never forget what it is like to be a teacher.

Our principal is not like that, but next year we will get a new one. I dread that. I love that our principal backs us up and supports us.

Kristi & Amanda, Just imagine what it would be like to have a principal who has never been a classroom teacher. They don't have the chance to forget what it's like "on the other side" b/c they have never been there themselves.

It's sad that many low-wage workers find themselves stuck with supervisors who seem to thrive on belittling their employees, throwing their weight around, and quite simply making a tough enough job even more miserable and unbearable. Why is that??

I've watch my mother work for these types for nearly 3 decades. None of which had the job experience or (in the last few years) even the education she has! Itsn't it amazing that it's not the peeple who know, understand, and superbly perform a job that ever get promoted to a position of authority. It's often the most unskilled, clueless, and ill-fitted ones.

Kristi,
I was alarmed to hear that your principal is not the positive and complementary type. I feel VERY fortunate to work for the Christian
man that I work for this year. It is the first time in my teaching career that anyone has demonstrated his christian attitude throughout the school
in many forms. You often received cards in your box thanking you for the hard work and effort you give to the school each week. Boy, do I love working at this school.

Regina, I cannot imagine that a principal what has never taught can truly understand the complex role teachers play! How could they possibly evaluate a teacher. Unbelieveable!

I too have seen people passed over for awards and promotions. Often it is who you know in getting ahead-not what you what you know or how hard you work!

Kristi,
Your post made me think of my husband. He taught 5th grade and 6th grade up until this year when he took an AP job at a middle school. He always talks about how different it is being on "the other side". He tries to pal around with the teachers but he has now crossed over. He really hates it. He always talks with me after doing an observation on a teacher to make sure he wasn't to nit picky or approached things in the right way. Lately, I can tell that he isn't quite as sensitive as he used to be and isn't quite as worried about the way he handles situations. I always tell him not to forget what it was like as a teacher, but I believe he is already forgetting in some instances.