There are many lies told at my school but among the most frequently repeated is this gem, "It's all about the kids." That little ditty is sung most frequently by my principal, especially at staff meetings where she has at least once referred to teachers as "lazy." Given how often she says, "It's all about the kids," I tried to think of the times I had seen her act on it. Here's what I came up with:
It must be the kids my principal has in mind when she clocks out people who are paid to attend meetings a half an hour after they've actually left.
It must be the kids my principal is thinking about when she yanks a paraprofessional from a classroom to answer the school phone because her secretary is absent.
It must be the kids my principal is considering when she says there is no money to pay teachers for after-school tutoring programs yet conveniently manages to find the money to pay herself when she works late.
It must be the kids my principal is worried about when she kicks teachers out of the building who need and want to work late so she can go home.
It must be the kids the principal is fretting about when she purchases a new desk for her office but says there is no money to buy copy paper.
It must be the kids the principal is concerned about when her office is one of only six rooms with a working air conditioner.
It must be the kids the principal is focused on when meetings with parents are scheduled at 5pm.
It must be the kids she is concentrating on when she uses the ELL or speech teachers as a substitutes.
In today's education reform world, my principal and lots and lots of other people express oodles of concern about "the kids." But if you watch their actions instead of their lips, well the truth speaks for itself.
