THE PRINCIPAL

1. THE PRINCIPAL

2. The most important person in a school is:

3. who deserves and should get: • love from the teachers, • understanding about his strengths & weaknesses, • opportunities for developing his innate qualities, • environment for blossoming his personality, THE CHILD

4. who deserves and should get: • encouragement and appreciation • counseling and guidance, • opportunity to develop ethically and morally, • treatment which is just and fair. THE CHILD

5. The most important person who has to get this done is:

6. He should provide: • Encouragement to the staff, • Leadership to the team, • a model of behavior for all, • criticism of acts and not of persons, • appreciation for achievement, THE PRINCIPAL

7. clear-cut guide-lines about expectations from members of the team, • opportunity to everyone to offer suggestions, • patient hearing to all i. e. students, parents and teachers, • necessary and relevant information to all, • cohesion among team members.

8. Leadership Administration Monitoring Mentoring Maintenance Development Information dissemination Society expects all the above from him. His role is varied and multifarious

9. INTERACTION with the students with the staff with the parents with the management with the board and with the public His vital and continuous function is:

10. Principal should set the goals for the school, both short term and long term Requirements for students’ development can not wait. They get the top priority. Whatever affects the development of students is important, whatever does not affect children’s’ development directly is not important. Making plans and committees is the first step but not the final. Making the plans work and guiding the teachers is more important. PLANNING AND EXECUTION

11. * We should certainly notice what others are doing, but we should do what is best for us. Everything may not suit our environment. • Recruiting good staff and continuous staff development (HRD) should be a priority for the principal. • How you colour the school building from outside would not affect students but if class room is painted white, it would make the class room bright. • Colour of furniture is not important but proper height of bench and desk and comfortable sitting and comfortable writing positions are important from children’s point of view.

12. The communication of the principal should not only be clear but it must reach every one and in time. Principal is criticized by the staff on the above count most, and rightly so, as the staff members don’t know what is expected of them. If the principal makes an announcement or takes out a notice and makes another announcement or circulates another notice reversing the first, it does not earn him respect. Taking two or three rounds of the school may be more useful than calling the teachers in the office and asking them what they did. ADMINISTRATION

13. If a teacher is in a class, he should never be called out unless it is a question of life and death Students have the first right on teacher; principal or management have the next. Beginning an activity or coming to school at the right time is punctuality, but ending the activity or the school at the right time is also punctuality. Calling explanation from colleagues may serve some purpose, but guiding them how to do it right may serve greater purpose. Speaking harshly may frighten colleagues; it would not earn their love and respect.

14. The principal should himself be a role model. He should lead from the front in academic development, environmental development and human development i.e. values. When punctuality is to be enforced, he must show punctuality by his own example. If the concept of “talk less; work more”, is to be introduced, he should be an example. To develop respect for rules, he should respect them first. LEADERSHIP

15. Telling “what to do” to a colleague is more important than telling “how to do” a job. “How to do” may be discussed and analysed after the goal is achieved. If the method were wrong, the goal would never have been achieved. If the morning assembly is to be effective the principal must show how it is the most important period and how meaningfully it must be used. It is all right if you take a decision fast, on an impulse, but it is better to think deeply, study all the aspects, the benefits and difficulties, before deciding.

16. If the method of “dialogue and open discussion” is adopted for a staff meeting, the principal must have the courage to listen to criticism. He must be able to exercise self-control and must refrain from interrupting. He should teach a class-the highest in the school-and show how learning occurs in his class by continued interest of students in his subject. Students’ performance in his subject should be comparable to the best.

17. The principal must be a good talker but more important is that he should be a better listener. • He should have the patience to listen to whatever is said, relevant or irrelevant. • Most of the parents wish to teach something. They seldom come to learn. • You cannot oblige everyone, but you can speak obligingly to everyone. INTERACTION : WITH PARENTS AND VISITORS

18. Acknowledging a good job done, encourages the doer. Pointing out one shortcoming and three things well-done is a good way of evaluating any programme or activity. Mistakes or shortcomings may be communicated in private, not in front of other teachers and never in the presence of students. Principal should not reject others’ views outright, thinking that he has such an experience and knows everything. He should evaluate the merit of every suggestion. WITH STAFF

19. Students are precious objects, put in your care, with trust & faith Each child has potential to grow and nurturing that gift is your responsibility. Positive reinforcement would work better than scolding or reprimand. ‘Love with law’ makes a happy school. WITH STUDENTS

20. You may not have money to spend, but you are answerable for every rupee spent. It is good to trust people, but putting the trust to test is not bad. Money is not everything, but nothing moves without money. Procedures may be cumbersome but they act as safe guards. Unless a better system replaces the present one, don’t abandon it even if it is not good. Financial and office administration

21. Caesar's wife should be above suspicion and she must always be seen to be above suspicion. Postpone a job and later you will invest time with interest. You may have to spend time in unproductive work, but if not done, there won’t be any productive work.

22. THANK YOU