{"id":1808,"date":"2016-08-28T12:00:35","date_gmt":"2016-08-28T12:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thecornerstone.wpengine.com\/?post_type=podcasts&#038;p=1808"},"modified":"2024-08-13T02:02:54","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T07:02:54","slug":"deal-principal-just-doesnt-get","status":"publish","type":"podcasts","link":"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/truth-for-teachers-podcast\/deal-principal-just-doesnt-get\/","title":{"rendered":"How to deal with a principal who just doesn\u2019t \u201cget it\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I get\u00a0<em>a lot\u00a0<\/em>emails and messages from teachers about problems with administrators.<\/p>\n<p>Some of these teachers feel like their principals place too much emphasis on testing and try to standardize teaching. There\u2019s no freedom for the teachers to be creative or exercise their professional judgment, and there\u2019s no freedom for kids to be kids.<\/p>\n<p>Others simply don\u2019t feel supported by their admins; they feel like workhorses who continually have more demands stacked on their plates without any acknowledgment or appreciation of what they do. One teacher put it this way: \u201c<em>I want to be a part of helping admin see that they should treat their teachers as though they are valued.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Now it\u2019s not my intention for this to be a principal-bashing post, and I\u2019m certain that anyone with a principal\u2019s blog\u00a0could write an article\u00a0about how to deal with teachers who just don\u2019t \u201cget it.\u201d We all know there\u2019s plenty of incompetence in every profession.\u00a0<strong>So let me be clear: there are many amazing admins out there and I don\u2019t mean to discredit them in any way. But the teachers who have great admins don\u2019t need my help.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This post (and podcast episode) is for the teachers who\u00a0<em>aren\u2019t<\/em>\u00a0fortunate to work with those wonderful principals who are visionaries, those who \u201cget it\u201d and make them feel supported and valued. Here\u2019s how to cope.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1811 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/principal-who-doesnt-get-it1-500x500.png\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" data-pin-description=\"How to deal with a principal who just doesn\u2019t \u201cget it\u201d --Struggling with a school principal who you feel is difficult? Here are a few things you can do to make your job easier.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/principal-who-doesnt-get-it1-500x500.png 500w, https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/principal-who-doesnt-get-it1-500x500-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/principal-who-doesnt-get-it1-500x500-300x300.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Want to listen instead of read?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Listen to season 4 episode 4 below,<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>or subscribe in your podcast app.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none;\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/4569760\/height\/90\/width\/500\/theme\/custom\/autonext\/no\/thumbnail\/yes\/autoplay\/no\/preload\/no\/no_addthis\/no\/direction\/backward\/no-cache\/true\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/382B5E\/\" width=\"500\" height=\"90\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<h3>1. Acknowledge that your principal \u201cgets\u201d things that you don\u2019t<\/h3>\n<p>No matter how oblivious or out of touch your principal seems, she or he has insight into the big picture of running the school that you cannot possibly have.\u00a0<strong>She or he has insider knowledge of things you simply don\u2019t know.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The same way that students say to us\u00a0<em>\u201cThat\u2019s not fair\u201d<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0<em>\u201cWhy can\u2019t we just do it this way\u201d<\/em>because they\u2019re so sure they have the same information we do and we\u2019re clearly making the wrong decision about how things should be done? That\u2019s how we are sometimes as teachers.<\/p>\n<p>We forget that the principal knows stuff we don\u2019t know and is looking out for a greater good.\u00a0<strong>We don\u2019t realize how the tiny change in policy we\u2019re suggesting, which seems like it would benefit everyone, would actually have a domino effect in a lot of other areas and create new problems.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We also forget that many of the ideas that seem to be coming from the principal are actually mandates from the district or state.<\/strong>\u00a0This is like our students assuming that every test we give them was our idea, and every rule we enforce was something we dreamed up ourselves. Students have no idea how many things their teachers are more or less forced to do because of admin, and likewise, teachers have no idea how many things principals are more or less forced to do because of parental pressure, superintendents\u2019 mandates, or laws at the state level.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of bad ideas may be implemented in your school, but I can guarantee that not all of them (and probably not even most of them) were initiated by your principal.<\/p>\n<p>So, an administrator may appear to be oblivious or to oppose something that seems like common sense, but people always have reasons for doing the things they do.\u00a0<strong>It may not be\u00a0<em>right\u2013<\/em>a good reason is not the same as a right reason. But if the person\u2019s hands are tied and they have no choice, that\u2019s a good reason even if it\u2019s not right.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So\u00a0start with the assumption that your administrators have\u00a0<em>reasons<\/em>\u00a0for deciding things the way they do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Begin there, rather than with the opinion that she or he is a bumbling idiot with no leadership skills, and I think you\u2019ll find that this move toward empathy lessens some of the frustration you feel.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In fact, whenever you\u2019re trying to work with a difficult person or a person who thinks very differently than you, you always want to try to get to a place of empathy where you can appreciate the principle of separate realities.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve written an entire chapter about this in my book\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/books\/awakened\">Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching<\/a>. The idea is that people\u2019s opinions, decisions, and values are based on their unique experiences in life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You cannot possibly see the world as your principal does, because you haven\u2019t had all the same life experiences as she or he has. You are truly living in separate realities and that will always be true.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And yet that doesn\u2019t preclude you from working together.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Instead, you can work to understand and appreciate one another\u2019s separate realities, those unique viewpoints, and realize that other people\u2019s choices do make sense within the context of their separate reality.<\/p>\n<p>Once you get to that place, it\u2019s not nearly as irritating to deal with people who see the world differently than you do. You\u2019re able to have a genuine understanding or their position.<\/p>\n<span class='bctt-click-to-tweet'><span class='bctt-ctt-text'><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftruthforteachers.com%2Ftruth-for-teachers-podcast%2Fdeal-principal-just-doesnt-get%2F&#038;text=If%20you%E2%80%99re%20complaining%20every%20day%2C%20you%20are%20part%20of%20the%20problem.&#038;related' target='_blank'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">If you\u2019re complaining every day, you are part of the problem. <\/a><\/span><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftruthforteachers.com%2Ftruth-for-teachers-podcast%2Fdeal-principal-just-doesnt-get%2F&#038;text=If%20you%E2%80%99re%20complaining%20every%20day%2C%20you%20are%20part%20of%20the%20problem.&#038;related' target='_blank' class='bctt-ctt-btn'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n<h3>2. Stop complaining and start creating change<\/h3>\n<p>Complaining does NOTHING but kill your energy and enthusiasm.<\/p>\n<p><strong>We as human beings have to stop justifying our love of complaining and pretending like it somehow makes us feel better.<\/strong>\u00a0Maybe it would if we could do it in small doses, but complaining is like a disease which worsens over time and spreads virally to almost everyone who comes in contact with it.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It\u2019s time to get real about how this culture of complaining is rotting away our schools, our classrooms, and homes. You cannot let your frustration with your administrators poison the lives of everyone who spends time with you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Complaining makes you feel like your situation is hopeless because not only are\u00a0<em>you<\/em>\u00a0upset, but\u00a0<em>everyone around you<\/em>\u00a0also sees there is a huge problem and is upset. You can work yourself into a frenzy together, and as each new tale of injustice and frustration and ridiculousness is added to the collective story, the helplessness and anger you feel builds with no healthy outlet for expression.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So guess where all that frustration goes\u2013into the classroom, into your interactions with your students.<\/strong>\u00a0And it probably goes home with you at the end of the day where you poison your marriage and the relationships you have with your own children, too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you\u2019re in a school where morale is already in the toilet, you cannot afford to waste a single day complaining about your administration<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t fool yourself into thinking that you\u2019re providing a sounding board for your frustrated colleagues; in reality, you are dragging them down.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Someone who is discouraged does not need to hear more stories of discouragement. They need someone to empower them. If you all sit around waiting for someone else to take on that role, change will never come.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Go ahead and confide in someone you trust and get things off your chest when you\u2019re upset. But you don\u2019t need to keep repeating your stories of frustration to everyone who will listen. You don\u2019t need to keep going back and rehashing.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve got to move into problem-solving mode as soon as you possibly can. Your job is just too important for you to allow your focus and energy to be drained by complaining and replaying conflicts in your mind and anticipating problems.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Shift from thinking,\u00a0<em>\u201cThis is ridiculous, I can\u2019t believe I have to deal with this!\u201d\u00a0<\/em>to<em>\u201cWhat are we going to do about it?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0Funnel the anger and frustration into something productive.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>If you want your administrators to value the teachers, then teachers can start by valuing the administrators.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Any marriage counselor will tell you that if you want to create new patterns for how you treat one another, you can\u2019t sit back and wait for the other person to take the lead, even if they were wrong and you were right. And you can\u2019t do one nice thing and then say,\u00a0<em>\u201cWell, I tried, it didn\u2019t work. He didn\u2019t reciprocate. It\u2019s hopeless!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In any relationship,<em>\u00a0with anyone,<\/em>\u00a0if you want to get out of the pattern of mistreating one another, the person who wants to create change can start setting a new precedent and be determined to shift the dynamic through his or her own actions.<\/p>\n<p>So, get to that place or appreciating separate realities and show respect to your principal. Smile genuinely and give genuine compliments. Do things that make his or her job easier, and things that make him or her look good.<\/p>\n<p>Stop the eye rolling, the muttering under your breath, the waiting until the last minute to do things s\/he requested. Let your administrator feel your support and that you value him or her. That\u2019s probably a pretty foreign feeling on his or her end, too.<\/p>\n<p><em>Let the past be the past and YOU shift the dynamic, regardless of how she or he responds.<\/em>\u00a0Kill \u2018em with kindness, and let it be genuine.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You can do that, even though it\u2019s hard\u2013remind yourself you\u2019re not doing it for your principal, you\u2019re doing it for YOU, your students, and your family. If you want to change a toxic school culture, let that change begin with you.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If the problem is that your principal is micromanaging you,\u00a0mandating extra testing and data collection, and in general making it harder for you to focus on student learning, creating change is even\u00a0<em>more<\/em>\u00a0imperative.<\/p>\n<p>If something you\u2019re being told to do in your classroom is keeping you awake at night because you know it\u2019s killing your students\u2019 love of learning and making you and the kids miserable, then it\u2019s worth taking a risk and figuring out a better way.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>You cannot wait for school leadership to mandate or sanction what\u2019s best for kids.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>You may not even need to take a public stand, although if you\u2019re showing more respect and a better attitude toward your principal lately, she or he is more likely to hear you and compromise, so it could be worth trying.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But what I\u2019m really telling you to do is close your door and teach. Ask for forgiveness rather than permission.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is the motto that tens of thousands of veteran teachers live by, the only thing that\u2019s enabled them to stay in our profession as long as they have: the stubborn determination to do what they know their students need no matter how many different policies come and go which could interfere.<\/p>\n<p>They smile and nod and document whatever\u2019s supposed to be documented and then they\u00a0<em>do what their students need them to do.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>You see, change doesn\u2019t have to come from a mandate\u00a0on high.\u00a0<strong>Grass-roots change, made one teacher at a time, one classroom at a time, can be the most powerful way to transform school culture and have the biggest impact on students.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So, do what you know is best and prove your ideas work.\u00a0<strong>Then you can bring the research and data to your principal, and back up your practices.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Next, see if you can get ONE\u00a0other colleague on board to do what\u2019s best for kids<\/strong>\u00a0and provide even more evidence that the strategies you want to use do work with your school population.<\/p>\n<p>Build from there\u2013it\u2019s simpler than you think to start a grassroots movement in your school, one teacher at a time, and let the change start with you.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1810 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/right-state-of-mind-500x500.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" data-pin-description=\"How to deal with a principal who just doesn\u2019t \u201cget it\u201d --Struggling with a school principal who you feel is difficult? Here are a few things you can do to make your job easier.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/right-state-of-mind-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/right-state-of-mind-500x500-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/right-state-of-mind-500x500-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>3. Go work somewhere else<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re listening to this and thinking to yourself,\u00a0<em>\u201cThis could never work at my school. You don\u2019t know MY principal. It\u2019s hopeless. I\u2019ve already done everything I can do\u201d<\/em>\u00a0then quite frankly, it\u2019s probably time to go work somewhere else.<\/p>\n<p>If you really hate working for your principal and you just don\u2019t see things ever getting better under his or her leadership, then leave. Let\u2019s be real\u2013there are some situations that are just not going to get better, barring a divine intervention. There are principals who don\u2019t want to change with the times, and the bureaucracy of the school system doesn\u2019t force them to. There are principals who are grossly incompetent, and those who will make your job much more difficult than it needs to be. This is absolutely a reality, I know.<\/p>\n<p>When you get to the point where you feel like you\u2019ve done all that you can do, you\u2019ll know it.\u00a0<strong>You\u2019ll know in your heart if you\u2019ve really done as much good as you can within your school, and it\u2019s time to move on.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And when you get to that place, start exploring your options so you can make a thoughtful decision when the right opportunity comes along.<\/p>\n<p><strong>There\u2019s a lot schools out there and many, if not most, of them are wonderful places to teach and learn.<\/strong>\u00a0There are thousands of principals out there who are inspiring and supportive and care about their kids and teachers.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t assume that it\u2019s terrible everywhere else so you might as well stay where you\u2019re at. There are places where you can love teaching again.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Now I know that finding another teaching position is easier said than done but remember, this is your LIFE we\u2019re talking about<\/strong>. If your soul is being crushed in your current job, why in the world are you letting anything keep you there?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>There\u2019s nothing more frustrating to me than to receive an email from a teacher who says she is killing the love of learning for her students and hates her job, but has a million excuses why it can never be another way, and she\u2019s doomed to be stuck in this awful job working for this awful principal forever.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>You get one shot at this life. Don\u2019t waste it. If you\u2019re waiting for your principal to quit or for the perfect job to fall in your lap, you\u2019re wasting your life.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Go create the life you want to live.<\/p>\n<p>Advocate for yourself and your students.<\/p>\n<p>Go make a difference in another school, or make a difference in education outside the system.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately that\u2019s what I decided to do.<\/p>\n<p>I got tired of the restrictions and I wanted to carve out my own path. That\u2019s exactly what I\u2019ve done, and I\u2019m not anyone special\u2013I didn\u2019t have any unique opportunities available to me. I just created a website to share teaching ideas and help other teachers, and let things grow from there.\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/2016\/05\/teacherpreneur.html\">If I can make my own path, you can do it, too.<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0If you\u2019re miserable, go.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t let obligations to your school community keep you from fulfilling your dream.\u00a0<strong>Your students deserve to have a happy teacher, and if you\u2019re unhappy and bringing that misery into the classroom every day, you\u2019re not doing them any favors by sticking around and maintaining the status quo.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>\u201cSo what\u2019s the best course of action in MY situation?\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Often teachers want to share their horror stories with me and then ask my advice on whether they should quit. They want me to either be horrified with them and give them \u201cpermission\u201d to leave, or they\u2019re hopeful that I can offer some magic bullet solution that they haven\u2019t considered which will make everything better.<\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t do either one of those things, really.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I can only tell you to first make sure you are appreciating the concept of separate realities, and seeing things from your principal\u2019s position.<\/strong>\u00a0Make sure you are looking at the whole picture, and trying to empathize with why decisions are being made the way they are.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I can only tell you to make sure you are part of the solution, not the problem.<\/strong>\u00a0If you\u2019re complaining every day and walking around school with a sour look on your face, you are part of the problem. Make sure you are creating change within your own classroom and doing what\u2019s best for kids, and make sure you are doing your part to build morale and keep your colleagues inspired. If you are waiting for someone else to do this, you have not taken responsibility for your own actions yet and moved into problem-solving mode.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Create change in your classroom practices and in your attitude and actions toward your principal, and give it time for you to see results.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>You need to do that whole-heartedly for many months before you can make the determination about whether it\u2019s time to go.<\/em>\u00a0Cutting back on the complaining and saying one nice thing about your principal does not constitute giving your all to create real change. You\u2019ve got a serious problem on your hands and you need to put in serious effort to solve it, because your livelihood as an educator is at stake, and so is the education of thousands of children.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Once those things are done, you\u2013and only you\u2013can make that decision about whether it\u2019s time to go.<\/strong>\u00a0Know that there isn\u2019t any harm in exploring your other options rather than trying to wait out a bad principal in the hopes s\/he will transfer or retire. I\u2019ve seen close friends of mine go that route and lose years of their lives working for a boss they hate just because the school is close to their house or they didn\u2019t want to start over somewhere else. It\u2019s been heartbreaking for me to watch this. That\u2019s not a trade-off I have ever been willing to make, personally. I will relocate, transfer, or\u00a0<em>do whatever else it takes<\/em>\u00a0to have a healthy working environment. I know my own worth and I believe that I deserve to work in a place where I\u2019m appreciated and supported.<\/p>\n<p>I believe you deserve that, too, so if you\u2019re struggling with this situation,\u00a0<strong>I hope you will start today to create change\u2013in your attitude, in your actions, in your school morale, and in your life.<\/strong>\u00a0Don\u2019t waste another day being miserable. You can start the turnaround process today.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1809 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/find-a-way-500x500.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" data-pin-description=\"How to deal with a principal who just doesn\u2019t \u201cget it\u201d --Struggling with a school principal who you feel is difficult? Here are a few things you can do to make your job easier.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/find-a-way-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/find-a-way-500x500-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/find-a-way-500x500-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<span class='bctt-click-to-tweet'><span class='bctt-ctt-text'><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftruthforteachers.com%2Ftruth-for-teachers-podcast%2Fdeal-principal-just-doesnt-get%2F&#038;text=If%20you%20really%20want%20to%20do%20something%2C%20you%E2%80%99ll%20find%20a%20way.%20If%20you%20don%E2%80%99t%2C%20you%E2%80%99ll%20find%20an%20excuse.&#038;related' target='_blank'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">If you really want to do something, you\u2019ll find a way. If you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll find an excuse. <\/a><\/span><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftruthforteachers.com%2Ftruth-for-teachers-podcast%2Fdeal-principal-just-doesnt-get%2F&#038;text=If%20you%20really%20want%20to%20do%20something%2C%20you%E2%80%99ll%20find%20a%20way.%20If%20you%20don%E2%80%99t%2C%20you%E2%80%99ll%20find%20an%20excuse.&#038;related' target='_blank' class='bctt-ctt-btn'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n<p><em>This post is based on the latest episode of my weekly podcast,\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/truth-for-teachers\"><em>Angela Watson\u2019s Truth for Teachers<\/em><\/a><em>. A podcast is like a free talk radio show you can listen to online, or download and take with you wherever you go. I release a new 10-15 minute episode each Sunday and feature it here on the blog to help you get energized and motivated for the week ahead. I\u2019d love to hear your thoughts below in the comment section!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This post and podcast episode is sponsored by Kiddom, a standards-based platform helping teachers personalize learning. With Kiddom, teachers gain access to an unlimited library of content, with beautiful, actionable reports. And the best part? Kiddom is free! Visit\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kiddom.co\/landing?utm_source=truth-for-teachers&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;utm_campaign=web-signups\"><em>www.kiddom.co<\/em><\/a><em>to learn more.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/category\/truth-for-teachers-podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1766 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/TFT-Podcast-Icon2-500x500-300x300.png\" alt=\"Truth for Teachers podcast: a weekly 10 minute talk radio show you can download and take with you wherever you go! A new episode is released each Sunday to get you energized and motivated for the week ahead.\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/TFT-Podcast-Icon2-500x500-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/TFT-Podcast-Icon2-500x500-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/TFT-Podcast-Icon2-500x500.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>See blog posts\/transcripts for all episodes<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/angela-watsons-truth-for-teachers\/id954139712#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/angela-watsons-truth-for-teachers?refid=stpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Subscribe to the podcast in Stitcher<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I get\u00a0a lot\u00a0emails and messages from teachers about problems with administrators. Some of these teachers feel like their principals place too much emphasis on testing and try to standardize teaching. There\u2019s no freedom for the teachers to be creative or exercise their professional judgment, and there\u2019s no freedom for kids to be kids. Others simply &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/truth-for-teachers-podcast\/deal-principal-just-doesnt-get\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1811,"menu_order":182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","categories":[10,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1808","podcasts","type-podcasts","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mindset-motivation","category-truth-for-teachers-podcast"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Truth For Teachers | How to deal with a principal who just doesn\u2019t \u201cget it\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/truth-for-teachers-podcast\/deal-principal-just-doesnt-get\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Truth For Teachers | How to deal with a principal who just doesn\u2019t \u201cget it\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I get\u00a0a lot\u00a0emails and messages from teachers about problems with administrators. 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