Behind Closed Doors
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I Knew They Needed Me. I Still Avoided Them.
Last month, I did something at school that I really hope nobody noticed. Although there’s a good chance someone did. That’s the part I keep going back to. I’m Rachel, or at least that’s what you can call me here. I’m a school principal in a small town just outside Manchester, England. Been working in…
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I Didn’t Want To Be The Principal That Day
I’ve been sitting on this for a few days now. Even tried writing it down a couple of times, but I kept deleting most of it. I’m a principal at an elementary school in British Columbia, Canada. Nine years in this position, 24 years in education altogether. You’d think after all those years I’d be…
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I Let It Ring
It was just a phone call during dinner. That’s what makes this whole thing a little embarrassing to admit. With everything else that happens in a school, you’d think I would have something more serious to complain about. Anyway, I’m Andrew. I’d rather not use my actual name here if you decide to publish this.…
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Please Don’t Knock
I’m not sure how to start this, so I’ll just get straight to it. I’m Michael, at least that’s the name I’d prefer to use here. I’ve been a secondary school principal in Queensland, Australia, for six years now. Before that, I spent most of my 20-plus years in education teaching. I came across The…
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I Pretended I Wasn’t There
Hello, The Good Principal. Please call me Daniel. That is not my real name. I’m a public school principal somewhere in Ontario, Canada. I’ve been in education for 23 years and in school leadership for almost eight. I’m not new to this anymore. That is probably why this is a little embarrassing to write. I’ve…
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I Cried in My Car Before Driving Home
I didn’t leave the parking lot right away. I told myself I was checking something on my phone. There were a few messages I hadn’t answered, an email notification I could have opened, and a reminder about something I needed to do tomorrow. But I wasn’t really reading any of it. I was sitting in…
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Sometimes I Pretend I’m Busier Than I Am So I Can Close My Door
I closed my office door at 10:42 this morning. I wasn’t in a meeting. I wasn’t making a confidential phone call.
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I Don’t Know If I Want to Be Principal Anymore
It came up in a conversation about next year. Nothing serious. Nothing emotional. We were talking about plans that would stretch beyond the current school year—staffing, a few things we wanted to improve, something that would probably take two or three years to properly settle. Someone said, almost casually, “Well, you’ll still be here.” I…