Published in 2012 “What Great Principals Do Differently; 18 Things That Matter Most” by Todd Whitaker is a reflection of his research studies on effective principals and provides a list of success tips for school principals. According to Todd one can become an effective principal through their work rather than just knowledge.
Rule 1 states that to have good schools, it is necessary to have good teachers because, “it is people, not programs” who bring quality in schools. How many programs we implement that are least effective without great teachers and so, a great principal needs to either change teachers or improve the work quality of an ineffective teacher.
Whitaker has explained the characteristics of great principals by comparing them to great teachers.
Rule 2 says great principals are aware of their skills and abilities and knowledge of self as perceived by others. Throughout his comparison, Whitaker has explained the characteristics of great principals by comparing them to great teachers.
Rule 3 is to give importance to every teacher and make them realize they are the agent of change in their classroom. Such as; a good teacher will take responsibility for his/her students’ performance in comparison to those who blame others for the failure of their students.
The great principals involve all stakeholders in decision -making. Similarly to teachers who blame others for the poor performance of their students, an ineffective principal criticizes outside factors ( Such as ;community, central office or board members) for the problems present in the school. An effective principal will involve the student body to address problems, therefore, look for “student-centered solution.” An effective principal sets equal goals for themselves and their teachers and takes responsibility for every feature in the school building.
Rule 4 states that “ Treat everyone with respect , every day , all the time.” And also great principals appreciate their teachers and students for bringing the best out of them.
Rule 5 states great principals act as filters to clear all negativity in and around the school and let only positivity enter their schools.
Rule 6 incurs that to enhance the performance of their teachers, they employ a wide range of corrective strategies and motivate them to visit each other’s classrooms and learn from each other instead of focusing only on the star teacher.
Rule 7 in every respect hires great teachers as they set goals for the best teacher at the induction process.
Rule 8 Great principals understand the dynamics of change. Such as they are vigilant enough to understand the change in the educational scenarios and embrace it, then plan and execute in the shortest possible time to cope with requirements of change.
Rule 9 discusses the role of great principals in understanding standardized tests. Effective principals and teachers focus standardized tests and invest all activities towards achievement of scores. Whereas, effective principals work on behaviors, students’ social skills and their self- reliance which ultimately makes way for higher scores.
Whitaker views that the entire school environment, functions, teachers and students are the sole responsibility of a school principal. Great principal is expected to be empathetic, responsible, resourceful, mindful, respectful, positive, an agent of change and work on human behaviors for improvement in school culture as well as increase in test scores. However, I believe change cannot be taken as a magic rather it is expected to take some time for lasting impacts. Moreover, every school context may not be replicated, and so does every staff member may not be replaced suddenly when Whitaker says a great principal hires a great teacher. There arises how to deal with veteran teachers who are not ready to accept change and state policies have no rule to replace them unless achieving 60 years of retirement plan.
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