Luke Rapley
EDAP 7802 (2nd hour – Saturday)
Dr. Bill Kruskamp
Shadowing of Principal Reflection
The shadowing experience with my principal this semester was considerably different than last semester. Last semester, I witnessed a typical school day in the life of a school principal. This semester, I sat in on interviews with prospective new teachers to my school. My principal asked me numerous questions throughout each task while shadowing him last semester but did not ask me very many questions this semester. I believe he did not ask me as many questions this semester because he wanted to acquire certain knowledge from each of the individuals he was interviewing in order to make the proper judgment on whether or not they were the right candidate for the opening he was trying to fill. The questions he did ask me pertained to certain programs at the school that I was familiar with (because they involved only teachers) and he asked me to give the candidate he was interviewing an overview of the program because he knew I would be able to better describe the program than he could himself.
During the interviews, I listened intently to the types of questions my principal was asking the candidates. I noticed that his opening few questions were general questions to make the candidate feel more at ease in the interview (i.e. Tell me a little about yourself., Where did you grow up?, How did math (or whatever the candidates strong subject was) become your subject to teach?). All of the teachers that were interviewed during my shadowing experience were teachers that wanted to transfer from somewhere else in the county to my school. Because of this, my principal asked each candidate “Why are you considering making a transfer?” I found this to be a very good question because this gave my principal a little better understanding of who the candidate was and why they wanted to make a change. Every candidate was asked “How did you come to decide that teaching was the path you wanted to pursue?”, as well. My principal used this question to acquire a better understanding of each candidate’s passion for teaching.
Throughout my shadowing experience during the interviews, my principal’s passion for education was very evident. He portrayed a very knowledgeable and passionate educator during the interview process. He shared a little of his background with each candidate so they could see that he was a lifelong educator and children were his passion. During the interviews, he used the questions mentioned above to get the candidate’s talking. He wanted them to do the talking but a couple of the interviewees needed to be prodded for more information because they provided very short responses to every question. He was very patient and showed much interest in every candidate (even though he told me that he knew if they were the right fit in the first few minutes of the interview). After each interview, he asked me for my opinion of the candidate. Then, he would explain to me his thoughts on the candidate. He told me some little things that happened during the interview that tipped him off that this person could be the right person (or is not the right person) for the job. During the successive interviews, I paid attention to the tips my principal shared with me. After asking my opinion on the candidates, we differed in our opinions on a couple of the candidates; however, I believe our differences occurred because he knew exactly the type of person he needed for the position that was available (in order to fit in with the rest of the department the person would become a part of) and I only knew that he needed teacher in a specific subject. During each interview, he was very straight-forward with each candidate. He told them he would know in two days whether they would be asked to come back for a second interview with the department chair for the subject they would be teaching and he would notify them if they had a second interview or not. He offered positions to a couple of the candidates during the interview and asked that they let him know within a couple of days. He gave them a couple of days to make their decisions because he did not want them to rush to any conclusions.
My principal is very knowledgeable about all areas of education. He has his hand on the heartbeat of the school and makes his decisions based on the needs of the entire school. His leadership is very straight-forward and direct. I appreciate this leadership style because I know what I am getting from the beginning. He does not make excuses for problems; he tries to find solutions. Throughout the interviews, I experienced my principal trying to find the most knowledgeable candidate that would best fit the needs of the department, school and most importantly the students. My principal is not going to settle for one person; he is patient and will wait for the right person.
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