Читать книгу The Assistant Principal 50 - Baruti K. Kafele - Страница 14

Now this is a question that I probably couldn't speak about enough. Assistant principal networks are vital. I often say that the principalship has got to be one of the loneliest and thankless positions on the planet. Our "thank-yous" come through the successes our schools experience under our leadership. Well, I feel the same way about the assistant principalship—times 10! In far too many cases, though not all, APs are relegated to doing the "dirty work"—doling out discipline, cafeteria duty, bus duty, and so on. This is not necessarily work that generates a line of people approaching you to say, "Thank you." Instead, the AP is often a person to be feared, and you didn't become a school leader to be feared. You became a school leader because you felt you had something to offer students and staff toward taking a school to heights previously unimagined.

Being consumed by the duties mentioned without a balance of the other important aspects of school leadership can be quite stressful. (Trust me, I know something about that. I dealt with so many disciplinary issues [as I was the sole disciplinarian in an urban middle school of 650 students] that I left the school stressed almost every day.) I knew that in my role as AP, I was to supervise half of the entire school staff, which included approximately 30 teachers. However, my discipline workload was so intense that I neglected my supervisory duties. I was not the instructional leader that I aspired to be. Instead, I was in the thankless role of school disciplinarian, and my staff and students suffered as a result.

In hindsight, I wish that I had taken the initiative and launched a network of APs within my district and in neighboring districts. The good thing is that these networks now exist in various districts across the United States. They give APs opportunities to collaborate with one another, compare notes, and exchange ideas. This is vital because unless you are interacting with others who do the same work that you do, you can easily be left with the impression that you are all alone and that no one else is toiling over these thankless duties the way that you are. Assistant principal networks can also be very revealing. There may be individuals in a network who have figured out how to simultaneously, for example, function as school disciplinarian and maximize their instructional leadership. These networks provide APs with endless opportunities to learn from one another. Sometimes, though, as human beings, we simply need like-minded people to whom to vent. (Family and friends who work in other capacities may not fully understand your frustrations, particularly if your salary is higher than theirs. They might tell you to "get over it.") Your fellow APs, however, fully understand your frustrations and sometimes just having an ear to hear them can soothe some of the pain. Do you network with other assistant principals? How often do you communicate and collaborate with assistant principal colleagues?

Remember, in the 21st century, networking need not always involve physically coming together. Social media platforms such as Twitter, and even text groups, enable folks to chat from wherever they are. If you are not a part of an AP's virtual network, you may want to start one with other APs or join existing groups via one of the various social media platforms.