Principle+3+-+Be+Here,+Prepared+to+Be+Nowhere+Else

"Make it you job as a leader to give up mole whacking and take up grub hunting."

I laughed as I read Sam's mole-whacking story. Did that one ever ring true! Although, I have to admit, I took it a step further. Not only did I take the mole from my office visitors and whack them around for a half hour before the visitor left, __I never gave them back to the original owner!__ At the end of the day I would have a pile of moles on my desk as everyone else left for home. I did it because I thought I was being a helpful principal. I ended up being a very tired and slightly (hopefully inwardly) resentful principal. When I moved on to my next administrative position at a new district, I made a conscious decision to (almost) always hand the moles back to the original owners as they left my office. I still help folks admire their moles - but the moles go with them when they leave. It's tough sometimes. It's in my nature to be helpful, but we each have our own jobs to do.