Principles of Principals

That people make up afterwards. I hear people say this all the time, and it just makes my moral and ethical skin crawl. Everything happens for a reason. Everything? Really? Bullcrap.  What reason would that be? Folks who say this have no idea what they are saying. However, when an event confirms their belief in that statement, the verbal diarrhea resumes. "See! I told you there was a reason. It is/isn't meant to be! Things happen for a reason." No they do not.  Things happen.  The reasons that get propped up happen after and do not relate except in your feeble mind. Stop saying this to people. Stop saying it to yourself.   Child abuse doesn't "happen for a reason". Genocide doesn't "happen for a reason". I lost my wallet because I'm an idiot. Good and evil are real. They exist in my heart, and in the hearts of us all. We do dumb things, for no reason. We do great things for no reason. We are humans BEING.  Attributing some random illogical ...

In the past week we've received several emails and phone messages from the school districts where our children attend. The pendulum swings from one side to the other, often within 24 hours.  If you're like us, head scratching, teeth grinding, and confusion swarms what might have otherwise been a normal day. But, these days are anything but normal. As our girls shed tears about the loss of connection around their friends and teachers, cancelled sports, postponed extra-curricular and arts programs, we try to find solutions to these challenges. First, let me unequivocally say that I do not, nor will I ever, apologize for working for and acquiring the resources to support my family. It has never been, nor do I expect it to be, easy (whatever that means). I only know that it is worth it. I know that it is my responsibility as a father, and I do the best that I am able under the circumstances. Here are seven point five ideas for parents who have students who are forced by unelected o...

I'd taken a post in a large unified school district north of Phoenix, Arizona, in a primarily middle class K-8 elementary school. As the newly minted Assistant Principal, I'd established my career understanding how to mitigate and manage behavioral crisis in classrooms - this particular campus housed a self-contained program for Emotionally Disabled students - and they hoped to lean on my so called expertise. Mid-way through the year, and in context of dealing with most of the code of conduct issues across campus, I got to know a group of students for whom navigating school structure was complicated. One student in particular was often in my office for increasingly physically violent actions - hitting a female student in the side of the head with a basketball - and I was working closely with his family and teachers to support rapid changes. It heightened my anxiety around school safety, and stressed my awareness. Cafeteria duty was part of my routine, not my favorite, but...