CHRIS
TOY
Diary #6
Sometimes
Parents Don't
Want to Hear the Good News
I've been thinking about a comment made by a parent the other day. I didn't know how to take it when it was made and I'm still not sure what I think about it.
The parents had come to me to discuss concerns that their child had not been adequately challenged during the previous school year. They wanted to make sure the same thing didn't occur this year. The student had received high honors grades, all A grades and highest marks in effort and behavior. Their child reported to them that school was not particularly challenging. In addition yearly standardized testing showed a drop in national percentile scores, but a modest gain in grade level progress. I explained that the grade level test in question was a more difficult test than the other years' tests, and that percentile scores generally dropped every year for all students in that grade. In this case, students made grade level gains even though percentile scores dropped. I stressed that it was more important to look at the overall picture of outstanding grades, excellent effort, and long term progress over a period of years across the grade levels. My point was that the student seemed to be doing quite well by all the usual measures and assessments. My explanation must have missed the point because one of the parents, in a somewhat exasperated voice, said that I always saw the glass as half full. After quickly storing the comment in my mind, I moved the conversation on to the student's needs for the coming year, We agreed that if the parents had concerns they would let their child's teachers know as soon as possible. We also decided to contact the teacher of the gifted and talented program, and finally to keep in touch with me. The parents left my office on a positive note. Hopefully if there are concerns about the program parents will let the teachers and me know right away. It's hard to address specific concerns after the fact. I've begun to make it a habit to ask specific questions of parents. I ask them what's going well and what they they have concerns about. Optimistic - but not blind So I've been wondering -- what's the downside of looking at the cup as "half full" all the time? I can see what the parent was getting at. If I always saw the cup as half full I may never see that there's a problem to deal with. In that sense the parent's observation was pretty useful. I certainly would not want to be blind to problems. Most of the day I deal with problems. I rather enjoy troubleshooting, discussing and analyzing problems, and helping people. Perhaps it would be helpful to clarify some of the roles I have as the principal of the school. Most of my day is spent working with issues internal to the operation of the school. Things like discipline, scheduling, visiting classrooms, attending team meetings, planning ahead, and addressing the concerns of people in the school building. I also meet with parents to discuss their children, peer issues, homework, discipline, the teachers, programs, and curriculum. In addition, I often provide information about and advocate for the middle school to the superintendent, the administrative team, the school committee, and the public. So at different times I may have very different roles. Sometimes I must deal with quality control issues with regard to my teaching staff. At other times I may be supporting a student, a staff member, or a parent who has concerns. Sometimes I have the opportunity to tell the public about the accomplishments of the school's students and faculty as the advocate.I guess I'll
have to keep in mind which role or roles is most appropriate for each
situation. Parents with a concern about their child's education may not
want to hear how good things are. They may need me to focus on their concern
and figure out how to address it. I'll keep that in mind as I look at
the half-full glasses lined up in front of me each day.
