Title: Three Differences Between Teaching and Administration | Education World
Headings: Three Differences Between Teaching and Administration
Three Differences Between Teaching and Administration
THE EVOLUTION OF AN ADMINISTRATOR
THREE BIG DIFFERENCES
NEVER FORGET!

Content: The influence an administrator has on the education of children is broader -- but not as deep. NEVER FORGET! If you are a classroom teacher who aspires to become an administrator, I have one last thought to share: administrators must never forget where they came from (and where they might return to). When a school administrator makes a decision or commits to an action or policy that makes even one teacher's job the tiniest bit more difficult, he or she has made a mistake, and has done a disservice -- not only to the teacher, but also to his or her students. When we forget, even for a moment, what it was like to walk the classroom floor, we have forgotten what years of teaching experience should have taught us. Teaching is difficult, and administration work is challenging in its own way, but there is no reason why both groups should not be able to work together toward the same goal: providing the best education possible for all students. If administrators become distracted from that objective, perhaps they need to go back and spend some more time doing the 5-by-5. Arnold Pulda is a liaison for gifted and talented student programs in Worcester, Massachusetts.