This is one of those really rash thoughts I had today, so bear with me here.
Earlier this week, my principal sent an email to the entire staff. She had placed a breakfast order at Chick-fil-A for our seniors and asked if whoever lived closest to the restaurant could pick it up on Thursday morning.
Being pretty sure I lived closer than anyone else, I offered to do it. She gave me the instructions, told me the order was under her name and fully paid for, and even sent me a couple of screenshots of the order screen from her phone. To be safe, I rolled into Chick-fil-A at 7:05 AM this morning for a 7:15 AM pickup.
The Crumbling Plan
When I got to the counter, the wheels completely fell off.
Not only did they not have an order under my principal’s name, the school’s name, or the school’s phone number, but they even checked the next nearest location just in case. Nothing. I stood there blankly before finally telling the employee, “To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if she just didn’t complete the order or forgot to hit send.”
The employee asked to see the screenshots. Sure enough, it looked as though she had never actually clicked “complete order.” The total didn’t even include taxes; it was just listed as a subtotal.
Now, I’ve questioned the logic behind a lot of things my principal has done this year. There are plenty of her school policies that I quite frankly don’t agree with, but this morning, she completely shit the bed. I order things online from time to time—probably not as much as some people—but even I understand that when you place an order, you typically see a confirmation screen or get an email receipt. She had none of that.
Holding the Bag
I called her to explain the situation. Without missing a beat, she just asked if I could pick up some bags of ice instead, since they already had other things at the school and the senior event was about to start.
So, I ran across the street to Walmart and picked up three large bags of ice. I felt like an idiot, and to be quite honest, I was embarrassed for my school. I just hoped the Chick-fil-A employees didn’t think I was some guy walking off the street trying to scam them.
But as I was leaving Walmart clutching those bags of ice, a thought hit me that prompted this entire post:
I’m going to go back to school to get my administrator certificate so I can become an assistant principal, or even a principal.
The First Officer Dilemma
I don’t know how serious I am about that right now. Even hearing myself say it out loud feels a little ridiculous. The truth is, I love being in the classroom. All I really want to do is teach. It’s bad enough having to get called to the mat by your principal when students in your own classes aren’t performing; I can’t imagine the feeling of getting called to the floor by the district to answer for the performance of an entire school.
To be perfectly honest, I’ve never really seen myself as the “leader” type. I’ve always viewed myself as more of a first lieutenant or a first officer. I like being the valued employee who has earned the respect of their peers and enjoys a great deal of autonomy, but still answers to someone else higher up the food chain. I’ve never had a lust for power, and I’ve never wanted to walk into a room and declare, “I am the leader.”
But the fact of the matter is this: whenever I am in a situation that completely lacks genuine leadership, I have no qualms about rising to the occasion and taking charge. Of course, that might just be the teacher in me.
On the other hand, it doesn’t hurt that school administrators make a heck of a lot more money than teachers do. There’s always that.
Crossing the Desk
I say all this because, as I may have mentioned before, I never returned to college to get my master’s degree. For a long time, I got comfortable being the teacher in the classroom. I used to tell people, “I’m not ready to be back on the other side of the teacher’s desk.” In a way, I’m still not.
I suspect an administrative certificate might be quicker to earn than a full master’s degree, but I know I need to look into the typical qualifications for an admin position. I might just have to bite the bullet and get the master’s while I’m at it.
But if today taught me anything, it’s that leadership requires attention to detail—even if it’s just making sure you actually hit “send” on the breakfast order.
Partner Post: Looking for more? Check out today’s 5:00 AM companion piece, Of Linguistic Pet Peeves and Professional Jargon, where I put on my English teacher hat to break down the everyday errors and exhausting workplace buzzwords that drive me crazy.
Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Whether I’m closing in on 1,000 consecutive days of blogging or reflecting on the decade of work that brought me here, the mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.
Today’s post is inspired by the WordPress Daily Prompt. While I’ve taken the topic in my own direction for the Road to 1,000 Days, you can find more responses to today’s prompt HERE.
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- Of ice bags and admin certificates
- Of Linguistic Pet Peeves and Professional Jargon
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The article “Of ice bags and admin certificates” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob
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