A Mom's View by an Assistant Principal

As an assistant principal, a student, a teacher, and the mother of a teacher I think that I have a unique perspective on the business of school.  Today, Sarah got a less than terrific evaluation from her principal which is a shame because she’s one of the best young teachers that I know.  It caused me to reflect a bit on this time of year in schools and on some of the fundamental differences between Catholic and public schools. 

I have worked most of my teaching career in Catholic schools, specifically Archbishop O’Hara High School.  And, as most of us who have worked in Catholic schools have thought from time to time, I’ve wondered whether I sacrificed too much in terms of salary or teacher retirement in staying in one place for so long.   But today, again, I feel reaffirmed in my decision.  Sarah’s principal is a product of the public school mind set, as I have come to see it during my course work for my master’s.    Cultivating strong relationships, helping teachers to grow and improve, caring for the whole child…these appear not much a part of her agenda, nor of the agenda of many of the public school principals that I’ve interacted with over the past year. 

It’s too bad.  Sarah is a terrific teacher, and I don’t just say that because she is my daughter.  Her cooperating teacher at her student teaching assignment saw it, her professors at Creighton recognized it, and her evaluations by this principal have been strong, until today.  The summative evaluation that the principal filled out was undoubtedly influenced by the harpings of an older crowd of teachers who disapproved of Sarah’s methods and were probably jealous of her youth, enthusiasm and energy.  That a principal could be influenced by a cadre of cronies could happen in a Catholic school, but it seems less likely too.  Catholic school teachers that I know are not much threatened by innovation, energy, or enthusiasm…probably because they’re too busy teaching, cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, and doing all of the other myriad of tasks that parochial school teachers do as a matter of course.  I have to confess that as a Catholic school teacher I haven’t been regularly evaluated and yet I know because of my regular interaction with my principal and colleagues when I’ve done a good job and when I haven’t.  When problems arise, as they always do, I talk them out with a colleague or the principal and it’s been that way since I started at O’Hara.  The staff is congenial and there’s no jealously, or at least not much.    No one worries about tenure because it doesn’t exist for us.  Even when we’re mad or frustrated or angry, it’s like a family squabble.  No one worries much about politics. 

It’s no wonder that young teachers get discouraged in the impersonal, meat-grinder atmosphere of many public schools.  I know that it’s not that way in all schools, but in far too many, emphasis is on management, not teaching; regulation, not learning; control, not care.   My advice to all young teachers…hold on, stay tough, don’t let the older or embittered or bureaucratic wear you down.  You are important in the life of a child.  Remember and hold on to that and when you are a principal, or a department chair, remember to embrace the new teachers. . .encourage them. . .make them a part of your community.  Then, and only then, will education be improved in this country. . .unless, of course, public schools embrace the Catholic model.  Spoken like a Lasallian educator.

Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day and I miss my mom. I did a bit of research and discovered that we have Julia Ward Howe and the carnage of the Civil War to thank for the idea of Mother's Day. Julia Ward Howe who is better known as the author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic proposed a day to celebrate Mothers and Peace after she witnessed the thousands dead. And, so today we honor moms. I remember those friends and family who are moms and I thank them for their gifts. There are so many moms whose stories give me courage and hope, who inspire...For Joan, who lost a job and beat cancer and found the courage to start anew....For Maura and Michelle whose fierce determination to give their sons with Down Syndrome a Catholic education that will help them be all that they can be....For Walter whose wife died and had to be both mom and dad for his two young children....for the nameless moms...the mother of Moses who set her son in a basket of rushes and watched from afar as he was raised in a stranger's home....for the Jewish moms of Nazi Germany who sent their children away to save them, knowing that they would likely never see them again....for the mother of Frederick Douglass who walked miles in the night to lie with her son for a few precious hours before she had to walk home to begin her day of labor on the plantation...for the young moms at O'Hara who spend countless hours juggling their role as teacher and mom and do so with grace and enthusiasm...for the countless Catholic sisters who chose not to have children so they could teach and nurse and pray for the children of others...for the young mom in Lees Summit whose baby died in her car while she taught the children of others...for the moms who have lost their child...For Cathy and Eileen and Kim...who somehow found the courage to go on. For all moms, everywhere, for those who live in grinding poverty and who lack the basic necessities of water and food and shelter...for those moms in the nursing home whose daughters come each day to feed them and talk with them, even though they do not understand. . .for those moms who accept grubby, half dead flowers from little hands and know that they've received a precious, invaluable gift. . .Thank you for your sacrifice. Your stories are mine because I too am a mom. It's the best thing I've ever done and ever hope to do and each day brings smiles and tears, hope and fear. Does any mom hear an ambulance go by and not wonder where her children are at that moment. . .We want so much for our kids. Mostly I want them to live lives that are filled with hope and relationships that bring them mostly joy. And, I hope that my kids know that I love being a mom. My mom and I were close but now that she is gone, I find myself wondering and thinking more about her as a woman. What were her fears and hopes and dreams? We talked every day but I feel as though I never really knew her. And, oh, how I wish I had known her better. I knew she didn't really like living in Tuscumbia but she did it anyway. She worked most of her life outside the home. How did she feel about that? She was smart and had gone to secretarial school...did she ever wish she had done more? She had some friends but I don't know who she confided in about us or about her marriage. Mom was a pragmatist and a realist...perhaps she didn't think about these things, but I remember that she would spend 2 or 3 nights a week on the river, fishing...normally by herslef, although sometimes one of the boys or my dad would go with her. I think there she found peace and solitude and had time to reflect. I wish I had sat with her....even in silence I would have learned more about her. I miss you mom. Happy Mother's day.