Principles of Principals

As a child, I was often deployed to spend my summers on ranches near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Before you say, "Oh wow! That place is beautiful!", which by the way it is, understand that this was very much a working vacation .  I love my family. I loved my time on the ranches. I was outside. I was free. I learned by doing. I was tutored by experts who cared deeply about me and about the work. The ranch and the animals treated everyone equally . There was diversity of experience and life. We were all included in the tasks. My grandpa's sister, Eula, kept sheep. Lots of them. This day was my day to help, while the others cut, raked, and bailed hay. One day while we were riding around in the flat bed Chevy, checking irrigation and fence, as we headed back to the pens, she was telling me about how she knew each of her sheep by their voice. I was inwardly incredulous, as they all sounded alike, echoing one another with their baa-ing. As we wound our way up the dirt road tow...

Yesterday we had a fight in the cafeteria.  7th graders.  I use the word typical in the sense that these things can happen in a school setting.  At my school, in all honesty, we've had 3 fights in three years, so this was an atypical occasion. Atypical has so many layers.  A boy was verbally harassing a girl.  She'd had enough, so she took matters into her own fists.  They're both African Refugees, familiar with the consequences of hatred, violence, fear, and malice. Our entire First Grade saw the fight.  "Why does this have to happen Dr. Sharp?"  "Why wouldn't that boy leave her alone?"  "What is going to happen to them?" were just some of the questions. Typical disciplinary action calls for immediate suspension, depending on district policy and number of previous offenses. This was not a typical situation. Today Seraphine visited each 1st Grade classroom and taught a 10 minute lesson on two of our school's CHOICES (Choosin...