Teachers report back to school in less than a week, and I can't help but reflect on something that happened near the end of last school year. It's been a while since I did this, so here's another tip from this veteran teacher...
...it's always worth it to tell the truth.
So, the story goes like this.
I was late to work one day in May which also happened to be the day of our monthly faculty meeting at 8 a.m. Instead of walking in well after the meeting had started and feeling all eyes on me, I decided to stay in my room and work. Only, I couldn't. I don't normally miss a meeting. I like to be "in the know," and I'm also a good worker. I like to do what I'm expected to do. The Hubs always jokes that he wishes he could hire me because he knows I would be his best worker.
Feeling guilty about missing the meeting, I decided to send my principal an email. Here's the exact one I sent:
After hitting "send" on the email, it was business as usual. The bell rang, and kids started arriving for the day.
Not 10 minutes later, as I'm chatting with students and answering questions during homeroom, IN (!!!) walks my principal. Mind you, he doesn't usually visit my classroom. Up until this point, he had only been in my room a total of maybe two times, for reasons like collecting a testing bin!
Right now, I'm thinking, what the heck!
He walks toward me and extends his hand for a handshake.
"I just wanted to thank you," he says shaking my hand.
"Thank me?" I ask incredulously.
"Thank you for being honest and forthright in your email," he says, "I don't get that a lot. You are doing the right thing by checking with your teammates to find out what you missed."
And then he was off again, but not before me saying, "No matter what they say about you, you are alright in my book!"
That last comment earned a chuckle, a smile and hopefully a newer found respect for this hardworking veteran teacher.
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