Education

A Matter of Principle

By Amanda Jones — October 02, 2007 1 min read
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Q6 of Assistive Principles was recently denied the chance to teach an AP Lit class at his high school because it would take time away from his administrative duties as an assistant principal. This is ironic, he says, for a number of reasons:

One, the term "principal" in education has its roots in the schoolhouses of old. There may have been more than one teacher, but one was considered the top dog—or, more accurately, the principal teacher, which is where we get the term. Whatever idiot eventually decided to move this position out of the classroom altogether clearly wanted his own office, little interaction with students, and premium dental insurance.
Two, I think the only real way for administrators to truly have their fingers on the pulses of their schools is to be on the front lines and in the classrooms themselves. Anything less, and we're seriously shortchanging the students.

He adds that he wants to get back into the classroom as soon as he can afford to do so.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Blogboard blog.