The Principal’s Role

| By: Committee for Children

As I’ve gone through my principal internship these last few weeks, I continue to think about the important role of social-emotional learning. I think in everything we do and everything we communicate as educators we must make sure we are thinking of all kids and their “whole” selves, not just their academic growth.

Last week I kind of had a rude awakening to the “principalship.” I was acting principal because both the principal and assistant principal were out of the building.  Little did I know I would be running (literally) from classroom to classroom to “manage” behavior. It was a pretty bad day. After helping solve a conflict in the lunchroom between two kids who hit each other, I was called to the office to help with a little kindergarten girl who had shoved three girls at recess. It was the same little girl I thought I had truly helped a few weeks ago. After that incident, the teacher said I had been a miracle worker, because after she and I chatted, the girl went back and had an amazing day. Well, this day it wasn’t much of a miracle at all.

After I took her back to her classroom I was summoned to another class, where two kids had hit each other with lunchboxes. In the middle of that conflict-resolution discussion, I was asked to return to the class where I had dropped off the little kindergartener. When I entered the classroom it was torn apart, and the room had been cleared because the little girl was throwing book and supplies, hitting her teacher, and refusing to come with anyone, including me. Her parents had been called, but it would be up to an hour until they came. Meanwhile the two kindergarten classes were in one classroom, and I was trying to keep this little girl from continuing to tear up her classroom. The word I had used before did not work this time. We waited, and really I wasn’t sure what to do. I felt I had tried everything. The saying about “the kids who are hurting the most need the most love” was ringing in my ears, yet with every attempt I made to show I cared, she threw another pile of crayons. Needless to say, I was left feeling helpless and questioning this whole principal endorsement.

More than anything, if I become a principal, I want the school I am in to be a joyful place; a loving place where kids and adults alike want to be. It is disheartening to see an enraged who hates school so much that she wants to tear up the classroom. The social-emotional part comes in because she is doing great academically, so how are we not meeting her needs in the social-emotional realm, and those of all the kids who were having social-emotional issues that day?

I am having lots of questions after last week, and the school is indeed working diligently to help this little girl be successful. One thing is for sure:  if I do become a principal, social-emotional learning will be at the forefront of the curriculum. I want to be a proactive principal, rather than a reactive one. However, I also realize that even if social-emotional learning is infused throughout the school, there are going to be times of distress for our kids. Times we need to forget about our day’s agenda and just listen to them, and give them a little attention, support, and comfort. The holidays are a good reminder of this. For some children, the holidays are full of fun and love; for others, it is a time of household stress and fighting.

For children to truly get a good education we must meet their social-emotional needs, not just academic needs. We must create readers and thinkers, yes, but as a school leader my responsibility is also to create students who are empathetic, kind, and possess good character. I am asking all school leaders to take a good look at the cultures at your schools. Is social-emotional learning emphasized? Are there lots of fights? Arguments? Is there time for teachers to teach social skills? To connect? How are teachers feeling about social-emotional learning? How are teachers feeling in the culture of the school environment? A positive school environment emphasizes strong social-emotional learning and can do wonders for teachers and families, and most importantly, our students. I also have a feeling the principal will benefit greatly in the long run, too.