I’m looking forward to writing some of my thoughts about being a principal. Though I spent 30 years fermenting ideas, no doubt if I spent 60 years I would still not be 100% satisfied. But what I do understand is the vital importance of reflection and in fact I have now understood it for years and valued most highly. 

A principal’s world is full of tension often caused by competing interests and responsibilities and the resulting maze can be really difficult to navigate. As a result principals become too busy trying to achieve everything and the pressures of this, pushes reflection into the “I’ll do it later heap” and from there into the “I can’t do it because I’m too busy pile”. I was like that and it was revealing and encouraging when my mentor, a principal of 27 years said “Christopher, you must take time to sit and look out of the window because if YOU don’t know-one else will”. His name was Paul McKeown, a leading principal during his time and certainly very busy.

Interestingly I recently quoted this to a bright businessman friend of mine who is in his mid-forties. It resonated with him and the other day he took delight in quoting it back to me. Significantly Paul telling me this actually gave me mental permission to do it. I never forgot his words and felt that I wasn’t fully doing my job if I didn’t indeed take time to look out the window.

Chris Tudor

AISNT Historian & Principal Liason