The PrincipalsPage.com Blog

• My Cartoon Guy Hates Me.

  Number of comments: 2
  I have a problem. Actually, I am pretty sure I have lots of problems but I can only tackle 17 at any given time (it’s good to be an administrator).
  
  My focus right now is that I have a cartoon guy.
  
  You might be asking yourself what [...]
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  Posted: March 20, 2009, 6:35pm EDT
  

• Interview Season.

  Number of comments: 7
  The flood of unsolicited resumes is a telltale sign that interview season is upon us. And by us, I mean me.
  
  Unless of course, you are unemployed. And if that it is the case, consider us in this together.
  
  Filling a [...]
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  Posted: March 16, 2009, 7:11am EDT
  

• Enough with the Resumes.

  Number of comments: 3
  Once again, it’s that special time of the year. It’s a good news/bad news situation.
  
  First , the bad news.
  
  My desk is covered with resumes.
  
  What’s the good news? They aren’t mine (and as always, if you have heard something that would indicate I [...]
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  Posted: March 15, 2009, 5:42pm EDT
  

• “You’re a Child!”

  Number of comments: 1
  When you work in a school you have access to all kinds of information.
  
  Mostly you learn that you wish you didn’t learn so much.
  
  Playing a small role in raising hundreds of students is a challenge. But it doesn’t hold a candle to raising your [...]
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  Posted: March 10, 2009, 6:04pm EDT
  

• Stick to Your Guns. Unless Your Wrong.

  Number of comments: 1
  As I get older, I can tell that I am getting more forgetful. It’s come to the point where I have to make lists to remind myself to check previous lists.
  
  Don’t even get me started about Post-it Notes. My budget for those colored pre-cut scraps of paper [...]
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  Posted: March 08, 2009, 12:48pm EDT
  

• A Mentor is Better Than a Master’s Degree.

  Number of comments: 6
  A principal gets fired about every 4.2 seconds.
  
  Alright, that is just a guess. It could be quicker. But since I do absolutely no research for this blog, we will never know will we?
  
  Dictionary.com defines mentor as a wise and trusted [...]
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  Posted: March 04, 2009, 11:11pm EST
  

• This Internet Thing May Just Catch On.

  Number of comments: 5
  I’ve had it. I’m moving.
  
  This may come as a shock to my wife, but things are changing. I thought the least I could do is tell her, before she heard it from a stranger on the street… or [...]
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  Posted: February 28, 2009, 2:40pm EST
  

• My Days as the Main Man Are Numbered.

  Number of comments: 7
  For some mysterious reason, there seems to be more interest in my blog when I write about my family than when I write about educational issues.
  
  I do my best to write different types of blogs in the hope that I can keep all 12 readers interested (yes, [...]
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  Posted: February 26, 2009, 10:52pm EST
  

• You Want To Be a Good Boss? Let Others Do Your Work.

  Number of comments: 8
  You want to be productive? You want to get things done? You want your school and district to run smoothly?
  
  Do you want to change things and be forward thinking?
  
  It’s easy [...]
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  Posted: February 21, 2009, 10:15pm EST
  

• How I Became a Teacher.

  Number of comments: 5
  The answer to the title of this blog is quite simple.
  
  How I got there is a little more complicated.
  
  This spring, the 2009 crop of high school seniors will graduate (barring any last minute mistakes on their part… and I am watching). As educators we want [...]
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  Posted: February 15, 2009, 7:01pm EST
  

• When Hiring Employees, Avoid This Mistake.

  Number of comments: 8
  In the last year, I have had this conversation with at least 612 people. You may question my ability to remember every person I have talked to in the last 12 months, but that would be a mistake.
  
  I have just a hint of Raymond Babbitt in me [...]
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  Posted: February 14, 2009, 4:06pm EST
  

• We Need More 8 Year Old Kindergarten Students.

  Number of comments: 8
  If I was put in charge of all things related to education, I would be overwhelmed. And underpaid (I am also going to need full family health insurance, but we can talk about that later).
  
  Also, I would be extremely happy (after all, that is a lot of [...]
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  Posted: February 10, 2009, 10:24pm EST
  

• The Secret to Life, Blogging, and Everything Else.

  Number of comments: 8
  You may have noticed something about this blog.
  
  The title is no longer in all caps. I have been told that some newspapers won’t pick up my blog because they consider a title in all caps to mean that I am shouting.
  
  I’M NOT.
  
  This [...]
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  Posted: February 08, 2009, 12:23pm EST
  

• THE DEAN.

  Number of comments: 3
  Coming up with blog topics can be tricky. At least that is what I’m told.
  
  People who believe this must put some thought into their blogs. Luckily, I don’t have that problem (lucky for me… unlucky for [...]
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  Posted: February 01, 2009, 12:04am EST
  

• EVALUATIONS: WHICH CAME FIRST THE PRINCIPAL OR THE GOOD BEHAVIOR?

  I’m fascinated by the reaction that many people have to an evaluation. In my humble opinion, they don’t seem to like them.
  
  Call me crazy (trust me, I have been called worse).
  
  The [...]
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  Posted: January 28, 2009, 6:27pm EST
  

• CHURCH AND SCHOOL.

  Number of comments: 7
  I know church and school aren’t supposed to go together (I think it has to do with the small print in the Constitution), but as I sit in church my mind usually wanders towards school.
  
  That isn’t completely true. My mind always wanders, but not necessarily about school.
  [...]
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  Posted: January 25, 2009, 8:55pm EST
  

• MAYBE PUNISHING PARENTS ISN’T SUCH A BAD IDEA AFTER ALL.

  Number of comments: 7
  Every so often a student will get in trouble at school.
  
  I know, I know… this comes as a shock to most of you. This is the dirty little secret of education. Students don’t always do exactly what they are told.
  
  But wait, there’s more. You may [...]
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  Posted: January 24, 2009, 2:09pm EST
  

• PRESIDENT OBAMA AND GREAT TEACHERS HAVE THIS IN COMMON.

  Number of comments: 6
  Today was one of those days that our great grandchildren will read about in history books (like books will exist when my great grandchildren are running around… or laying on the couch if they take after their grandma).
  
  In my 40 years there are only a few [...]
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  Posted: January 20, 2009, 9:54pm EST
  

• GUEST BLOG - WE ARE IN CHARGE NOW!

  Number of comments: 6
  After editing 200 blogs of PrincipalsPage ramblings, I have decided that the Wife/Mother-In-Law Team needs a chance to speak. I mean come on...
  Don’t I get a reward for constantly correcting semicolons and the incorrect use of to, too, and two?
  
  Honestly, [...]
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  Posted: January 17, 2009, 1:13pm EST
  

• TECH GEEKS VS. THE SUITS.

  Number of comments: 9
  It’s on.
  
  A battle of historic proportions is taking place.
  
  It is the classic scenario of good vs. evil. And both parties think they are playing the role of good.
  
  The future of education hangs in the balance.
  
  Worse yet, some of the people involved [...]
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  Posted: January 16, 2009, 9:50pm EST
  

• THE 50% RULE.

  Number of comments: 4
  If you are a first year principal, my guess is that you are tired.
  
  Why do I think this? Because I’m not a first year principal and I’m tired.
  
  It is part [...]
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  Posted: January 15, 2009, 9:56pm EST
  

• SO YOU WANT TO BE A BIG TIME BLOGGER?

  Number of comments: 5
  Do you want a blog that you can call your very own?
  
  I have but one question.
  
  Why?
  
  Do you find yourself with too much free time to devote to your family, hobbies, or charity work?
  [...]
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  Posted: January 12, 2009, 10:04pm EST
  

• WHAT FEELINGS? I’M A SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR.

  Number of comments: 10
  This week I was asked an interesting (granted, it may just be interesting to me) question by a Superintendent from another school district.
  
  Do I ever get my feelings hurt?
  
  The answer is of course, [...]
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  Posted: January 10, 2009, 7:53pm EST
  

• 2009 IS THE YEAR OF THE BLOG.

  Number of comments: 10
  This is Part 2 (or the Deuce for my rather large 18-24 audience) of my series on administrators using more technology (or any… I will take what I can get at this point).
  
  The first was [...]
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  Posted: January 04, 2009, 1:27pm EST
  

• MY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION FOR 2009: BE LESS FAT.

  Number of comments: 7
  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but 2008 is just about over. It doesn’t seem possible that another year has left us (time to do the taxes again and my last dental appointment was in 2008… crap).
  
  Just yesterday it was 1999 and I was [...]
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  Posted: December 31, 2008, 8:51pm EST
  

• MY JOB AS A DAD: LESS PRESENTS, MORE OPPORTUNITIES.

  Number of comments: 3
  One of my main concerns is being a good dad.
  
  I have come to realize that I only have these responsibilities for another 11 years. After that she is society’s problem.
  
  Actually, I hope she is [...]
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  Posted: December 30, 2008, 12:26pm EST
  

• THE MEANEST KID IN SCHOOL IS ALMOST ALWAYS A GIRL.

  Number of comments: 7
  A big part of being a school administrator is working with students. Unfortunately, it isn’t always the biggest part (see: staff and parents and assorted other dramas… mostly involving bathrooms), but it plays a large role.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 29, 2008, 12:25pm EST
  

• THE OIL CHANGE GUY WANTS MY JOB.

  Number of comments: 8
  I got the oil changed in my truck this morning.
  
  Yes, as a real man I know my way around the dealership.
  
  This is what a manly man does. He drives his vehicle across town and waits patiently in the lobby as someone fixes his truck. [...]
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  Posted: December 24, 2008, 6:38pm EST
  

• AN OPEN LETTER TO SUPERINTENDENTS AND PRINCIPALS: YOU SHOULD BLOG.

  Number of comments: 8
  Superintendents and Principals should blog.
  
  Well that is not exactly what I mean. Plus I feel like I am repeating myself.
  
  They don’t have to necessarily blog, but they do need to keep up with the [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2008, 7:36pm EST
  

• THE SNOW DAY HAS VIOLATED ME.

  Number of comments: 3
  The glorious snow day used to be an all day celebration of sleeping in, overeating, watching bad TV, and taking at least 3 coma-like naps.
  
  Now it is dead to me.
  
  I can’t look at it, speak of [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2008, 8:06pm EST
  

• BEING A SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR MEANS YOU MAY BE TOO TIRED TO NAP.

  It is the perfect storm of tired.
  
  Everything is falling into place at just the wrong time.
  
  I am behind on my to-do list at work. The semester ends in two days. I also have a school board meeting to attend and a basketball game to supervise.
  [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2008, 10:51am EST
  

• CAN KIDS BE TOO BUSY?

  Number of comments: 4
  My wife said she had a dream last night. The good news was it was about me (I am pretty sure she doesn’t tell me about her “other” dreams).
  
  The bad news is she said I was old in the dream. Really old. Like age-spots on my big [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2008, 1:37pm EST
  

• NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS AFTER MIDNIGHT.

  Number of comments: 4
  I was reminded of this saying last night when one of our smoke detectors starting beeping… every 45 seconds… every 45 seconds… every 45 seconds…
  
  … until I dragged my big tired behind out of bed and pulled the battery out. The official time was 3:53 a.m.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2008, 7:49pm EST
  

• YOU DON’T OWN A TV? WHAT’S ALL YOUR FURNITURE POINTED AT?

  Number of comments: 2
  Sadly, this isn’t my quote. I wish it was. It would be nice to be this witty.
  
  It came from that man genius Joey Tribbiani on an episode of Friends (and Tweeted by Scott Elias, an assistant principal in Northern Colorado… good luck on that doctorate degree).
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2008, 9:31pm EST
  

• SANTA’S COVER SEEMS TO BE SAFE ON THE 2ND GRADE PLAYGROUND.

  Number of comments: 6
  As I head into the holiday season, I ask myself one question.
  
  No, it isn’t “Will I survive?” And no it isn’t “When can I pull the trigger on the first of what is sure to be many snow days” [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2008, 5:37pm EST
  

• A PRETTY GIRL ASKED ME OUT FOR CORN DOGS.

  Number of comments: 2
  As I sit here on the day after Thanksgiving, I have a couple of thoughts.
  
  One is that I need a bigger chair.
  
  The second is that last piece of pumpkin pie was a bad idea. I feel like a bloated rotting hog that has been lying [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2008, 10:15pm EST
  

• AS GOD AS MY WITNESS, I THOUGHT TURKEYS COULD FLY.

  Number of comments: 2
  Thanksgiving has arrived.
  
  This is my effort at writing the annual Thanksgiving themed blog (and of course by annual, I mean just this once).
  
  The title of the blog comes from one of [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2008, 6:57pm EST
  

• YOU CAN’T JUST HAND A MICROPHONE TO ANYBODY.

  Number of comments: 6
  I spent my weekend at a convention. Actually, I shouldn’t use the word weekend because that implies restful time away from my job.
  
  But all is not [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2008, 9:56pm EST
  

• EVERYONE HAS A PRICE. WHEN IT COMES TO TENURE, WHAT’S YOURS?

  Number of comments: 3
  I was reading an article in the New York Times about Michelle Rhee, the Chancellor of Washington D.C. public schools who has a dramatic idea on how to improve education.
  
  She wants teachers to give up tenure. And [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2008, 9:10pm EST
  

• SAMMY THE SNAKE SLID SILENTLY DOWN THE SEASHORE.

  Number of comments: 6
  As students work their way through school, they must take many important classes.
  
  An argument can be made that any one of the following are the most enlightening: Math, English, Science, the Fine Arts, Physical [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2008, 8:52pm EST
  

• CHANGE. MAYBE IT'S NOT SUCH A BAD IDEA AFTER ALL.

  Number of comments: 2
  From our friend Angie.
  
  Here is my favorite change quote of all time:
  
  "If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less."
  
  -Gen. Eric Shinseki
  
  
  I have got to figure out a way to work this one into conversation. [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2008, 10:46am EST
  

• CHANGE. SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA, FOR YOU.

  Number of comments: 1
  The word “change” has been front and center in the 2008 Presidential campaign. I am guesstimating that is was used about every 3 seconds.
  
  Senator McCain and President-elect Obama both used the word on a daily basis. [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2008, 10:31pm EST
  

• WHICH GRADE SHOULD YOU TEACH? I CAN HELP.

  Number of comments: 6
  As I travel this great country of ours (back and forth to work), the question I am asked most often is… “How do I know which grade level I should teach?”
  
  Future educators seem to be confused by the differences in kids at the elementary, middle school, and [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2008, 10:18pm EST
  

• I HOPE YOU VOTED.

  Number of comments: 1
  Most readers (which now number in the almost a lot) of the PrincipalsPage.com Blog seem to work in or around education.
  
  As educators (or in the vicinity of education), I think we have a responsibility to vote. I could make the case that we have the right not [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2008, 9:39pm EST
  

• THE REAL WINNER IN THIS ELECTION IS HISTORY.

  Number of comments: 2
  Tuesday, November 4 will be historic.
  
  I think schools, teachers, students, and parents have an obligation to pay attention to this election like never before (we should pay attention to every election… but, it just gets so tiring listening to [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2008, 8:04pm EST
  

• THE GIFT.

  Number of comments: 5
  I believe that everyone has a gift.
  
  Sometimes these gifts are discovered at a young age, while others seem to stumble upon individuals later in life.
  
  In a perfect world the gift you’ve been given has the ability to also [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2008, 9:10pm EDT
  

• COMMENT ON MY BLOGS, OR NOT. I DON’T CARE, OR DO I?

  Number of comments: 10
  The title to this blog is easily one of the top 5 most pathetic that I have ever used. If you don’t believe me read all 173 (counting this one) entries.
  
  Then you [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2008, 10:25am EDT
  

• DRESS CODES FOR EDUCATORS: A TOUGH SELL WHEN WEARING A PUMA SWEATSUIT.

  Number of comments: 10
  There is always talk about dress codes when you work in education.
  
  Teachers are often concerned if a student can wear a particular shirt, a hat, baggy pants, etc. Most of these issues can be [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2008, 12:53pm EDT
  

• THE SHORTER THE WORK WEEK, THE LONGER IT FEELS.

  Number of comments: 1
  Like most people, I look forward to any sort of vacation. While the summer one continues to be my favorite (followed closely by any other), I must admit that I do have a special place in my heart for that [...]
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  Posted: October 17, 2008, 9:31pm EDT
  

• NEW WEBSITE - www.LIVEfromtheMANCAVE.com

  Number of comments: 1
  While sitting around, it occurred to me that I don’t have enough to do.
  
  So, I hatched a master plan that ended with me creating a new website.
  
  If you are even a little observant (and my readers are known for their excellent observation skills), you have [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2008, 9:12pm EDT