Yesterday was School Start Eve. Like many other administrators, I was up very early with ideas, to-do lists, and loose ends streaming though my mind. Luckily I was with my early to rise side kick who was singing..."we're on our way, the mission of the day, starts when we say rocket...ROCKET!" (Little Einsteins)
She started her day with dinosaur egg oatmeal as I had coffee and email. I was working on a to-do list that had just found its way to a second page and I heard my three year old say,
"Do you have to go to work today?"
Me - "Yep."
Kasey - "At school?"
Me - "Yep."
Kasey - "Ok - long pause - remember to be nice to the teachers, try your best, listen to Tracy (our secretary that she LOVES), and have fun."
I just smiled.
Print can never even come close to the sweet little voice of a three year old girl putting her own slant on the same thing I tell her before she goes to preschool or dance class. She said all of this with her index finger pointed in the air and a stoic look. As I thought about it, she had some pretty amazing advice for me.
First and foremost...BE NICE TO THE TEACHERS.
Everyone knows the first week of school is tumultuous for everyone. Spirits and stress are high, adrenaline starts wearing off, the duties schedule has now been changed four times, and the wi-fi is only working 60% of the time. It would be easy to get irritable about something little. After all, you have a million things to do. Just remember, your teachers are about twenty-four hours from meeting their new family with all their little quirks and nuances. Twenty-four hours from getting to know 20-30 kiddos that they will end up knowing as much about as anyone. Twenty-four hours from starting to lose sleep over a child that looked upset all day but wouldn't tell them why. Twenty-four hours from an onslaught of educational acronyms that would make non-teachers weep to try to figure out. Twenty-four hours from starting quite arguably the most important job in the world. Be nice to the teachers... literally the easiest and most effective piece of advice for starting the year.
LISTEN TO TRACY(secretary) - Need I say more? :)
TRY YOUR BEST AND HAVE FUN. Can it really be this simple? The answer is yes.
You were asked to be an administrator because a group of people really believed in you and your ability to help staff and students achieve more. All you can do at this point is continue to grow, try your best, and make sure you find time every day to have a little fun.
Have a great year.
