The Principal as Co-driver

I love the use of analogy. It causes the reader/listener to think and put the two pieces together, comparing and contrasting at the same time. So, at the risk of asking you to put a couple of things together, here we go.

A good Principal is like (or should be like) the co-driver in a rally car.

Rally Driving is my favorite motorsport to watch. Not that I'm a big motorsports fan at all, but if I'm flicking through the TV and land on some rally driving, I'll stop for a bit and watch. It's fast, it’s dangerous, it's exciting and there are two people in the car. The on-board-camera is the most interesting for me. You get to see the driver and the co-driver interacting. The driver has feet and hands going everywhere - brake pedals, accelerator, hand brake, gears, clutch, steering wheel. He's flicking that car around like a rag doll, sliding in and out of corners, taking off over crests, hitting blind corners at amazing speeds. And the co-driver? He's reading. Out loud!

If you have never watched a rally, then at this point you might be a little intrigued. Is he sitting there reciting Dan Brown, trying to untangle the DaVinci Code? Is it a map? Is he making sure they stay on the right track? Take a few minutes to watch this video.

He is reading race notes. Race notes that he and the driver have written themselves a couple of days earlier. These notes are extremely precise. Distances. Turns. Speeds of turns. Road conditions. Inclines. Declines. Etc. These race notes describe to the driver exactly what he will be facing next as he races along the track. The driver's job is to listen to the co-driver and adjust accordingly. If "100 L2" is the call, the driver has to slow down to 2nd gear for the left turn coming in 100 meters. Very precise, timely, informative information.

And now the Principal...

Schools are full of very smart people. Students, teachers, administrators. As the Principal, it is your job to presume this, to expect this, to create this. Of course, there are some who are not. Presume anyway. And to this end, be precise with your race notes.

Your race notes are how you talk to people. Be precise with the language you use. Give your teachers, students, and colleagues the information they need to be the best they can be. The precision of the language you use is extremely important, as it can influence the way things get done, now and in the future. Your choice of words can have a direct impact on how a teacher continues to grow and develop their teaching practices, and your choice of where you give those words can have just as much impact.

Consider this scenario...

The Principal is sitting in her office talking to the HS Social Studies teacher about a lesson she observed. The summative assessment was not good! She hands him an article to read saying, "Here's some information on summative assessments I think would be helpful for you to read." The teacher, listening, hears her say, "I think your summative assessments are poor and I need you to read this."

Now, with a rally driving co-driver twist.

The Principal has entered the HS Social Studies teacher's classroom and has asked where they should sit. They sit. The Principal passes over the article on summative assessment and says, "I saw the effort you had put into your summative assessment and it reminded me of one of the articles I have on summative assessment best practice. I thought you might like to add it to your assessment resources. It's great to get new ideas to add to your own practice." The teacher, listening, hears her say, "I saw your effort. I read a lot of articles. I presume you do too. Here's how this one will be helpful."

With this twist, the teacher is in the driver’s seat (his classroom), the Principal has shared that she does a lot of reading, the Principal has shared she expects him to be building similar resources, and the Principal has told the teacher how she expects him to use the information from the reading.

So, the analogy...

The Principal should be the co-driver when working with teachers, just as teachers should be co-drivers when working with students. Both the Principal and the teacher should be strapped in for the ride, committed to reaching the end and working together to get there. The Principal should be very precise with his/her race notes, which should give the teacher everything they need, and more, to make their own decisions about how to turn the corner. And if they crash, the co-driver should be there to help the driver get out of the car.

Perhaps, being a Principal should be like being a rally co-driver.