Good nuggets of wisdom for educators

My time as an educator was extremely rewarding, enriching, and eye-opening.

At every stop along the way, I had the privilege of working with a supervisor or supervisors who taught me a lot about life in general and about education in particular.

The following paragraphs have some good nuggets of wisdom that I learned from each. It is good stuff to consider, whether you are an educator or whether you just want to be a big help wherever you work.

At this time, educators are getting ready for the final stretch of the school year, and as they reflect upon how to do a better job in the years to come, it might help if they could consider some of the thoughts that were passed on to me.

During my first position as an administrator, my immediate supervisor was a lady just a couple of years older than I, and she made a great impact upon my life and on my career because of her encouragement.

“I rely on you more than you know,” she told me more than once. And she would often add, “I don’t know what we would do without you.”

It wasn’t hard at all for me to be loyal to a boss like that.

Another supervisor once said, “Some students learn in spite of their teacher; some students learn because of their teacher.” Let that one soak in. Another administrator I worked for said something that I remember was very favorable about some of the new teachers on the staff.

“Students like the new teachers,” he said, “because the new teachers are trying something different, and sometimes they are doing something that is new and fun. The kids like that.”

Still another boss I had used to direct some penetrating questions to the staff.

“Are we making decisions,” he asked, “based on what is best for students or what’s most convenient for adults?”

I hate to admit it, but in many schools, there are often some major decisions made that are based on what is most convenient for the adults in the building.

The same supervisor also was known to say, “We can’t just teach, test and hope for the best.” He was a big believer in providing support and guidance for students all along the way.

Still, another asked more than once about how a grade is determined.

“Are we giving a grade based on behavior,” he would ask, “or are we giving a grade based on what a student has learned?”

Again, I hate to say it, but in some situations in schools, students lose points or grades based on what they may have done or what they may have failed to do.

Incidentally, I’m not an attorney, but if a child’s grade is lowered based upon factors having nothing to do with academic performance, that could be fertile soil in which the seeds of a lawsuit may be planted.

I don’t like the idea of anyone suing a school, but it is what it is.

Another supervisor who taught me a great deal was a person who had a tremendous understanding of how instruction should take place in classrooms today.

He taught us that we should not simply give tests as a way to collect numbers for the grade book.

Instead, he said, assessment of tests and assignments should help the teacher make adjustments in his or her instruction.

“Assessment must drive instruction,” he used to say.

And finally, I got to learn a lot from a boss that I only worked with for one year.

But I paid attention and I remember what he would say.

As a principal, he made it clear that he believed strongly in providing what teachers needed, and he also believed strongly in making sure that nothing would interfere with them doing their job.

In addition, he stated on more than one occasion that the principals had to set the tone in school.

“We’ve got to be the voice of calm and reason,” he would say.

You may not have been counting, but altogether, I’ve just quoted seven different school administrators.

And you know what? If any faculty took that advice to heart and made changes based on the insights it provided, it would improve their school tremendously — guaranteed!

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David Wilson, Ed.D., of Springdale, is a former high school principal and is the communications director for the Transit and Parking Department at the University of Arkansas. His book, “Learning Every Day,” is available on Amazon. He may be contacted by email at dwnotes@hotmail.com. Opinions expressed are those of the author.