I had a unique retired principal’s weekend with an old girl’s wedding on Saturday and another’s memorial service on Sunday.
Any experienced principal knows that it’s not an ordinary life. You are the go-to leader in both the good times and the crisis times in the lives of many hundreds of families.
Even as a new principal you realise soon enough that you become a parental figure to children who live without their parents. As a male principal, and initially the only male on a big girls’ school staff, you are a father figure to many. Your role as a school leader requires you to demonstrate leadership, responsibility and integrity.
Obviously, you are not the parent so there are definite professional boundaries, but if, like me, you were the principal of the same school for decades, you can retain that link with past students, some now in their fifties. That continued contact in our connected times is a source of sincere interest, fulfilment and inspiration in my life. You may see this as unnecessary, maybe even weird, but it’s me; and I’m trying to share that part of principalship that we all share that’s far from ordinary.
It’s not ordinary to deal with family tragedy, but principals are often called upon to take the lead, to comfort and to guide, to facilitate support, to speak at funerals and to follow up on children for years to come. Principals bring a calmness and authority to difficult situations which have a devastating impact on young lives.
My experience as a Principals Academy mentor, these last six or seven years, is that of principals who see themselves as guardians of their school and its people, and, in many cases, as respected and effective community leaders. I remember how many of them followed the WCED’s lone call to bravely lead lockdown nutrition at their schools.
Let me tell you about my Saturday.
Gaby, a young, chartered accountant, one of my past students and the daughter of a close family friend chose a much older fiancé and together they faced a series of serious complications. They wanted a wedding that acknowledged that reality and reflected their dreams and desires. Who better to navigate the complexity of their relationship than your school principal who has known and respected you for many years. I’m 73, literally past it, and I was not keen, but no-one can say no to Gaby.
Being a principal also means having a grandstand seat, not only at weddings and graduations, but sharing in the pride of our learners’ many achievements and accomplishments.
Sunday was different.
I had known Crystal Donna Roberts (40), who died of breast cancer earlier this month, since she came to Gr 8 in 1998. Her memorial service was in the Opera House at Artscape and was hosted and attended by the film industry. Crystal was a radiant personality, an inner and outer beauty, a humble, vibrant spirit whose laughter was always kind and contagious. She was in over 800 episodes of Arendsvlei on KykNet and in many plays and films including Krotoa in which she played the titular role and won the 2017 SAFTA Best Actress Award and an invitation to the Cannes Festival.
I loved her candour. ‘My breasts were sick. They had to go; I could handle that. But my hair!’ If you are watching the audio version of this letter you will understand how central her hair was to her dramatic persona.
Excuse me sharing these personal stories with you, but they dominated my weekend even ten years after retiring as a principal. Once a principal; always available for use and abuse.
How many funerals of teachers, parents, learners have you attended? How many memorials have you organised at school and how many eulogies have you presented? In South Africa, it’s in a principal’s job description; as is dealing with the police, the neighbourhood watch, the construction mafia, the gang leaders and now, it seems, the protection networks, too. It is not an ordinary life.
When I look back at disciplinary issues in a busy boarding school, I could write a bestseller. You can, too. Trouble is, they might be banned!
A necessity to get you through each extraordinary week is the comforting presence and listening ear of a spouse or soulmate, although so much of what we experience is confidential. Being able to offload in the company of a trusted coach or mentor, usually an ex- or colleague-principal who has also seen it all, helps one to alleviate the stress that punctuates every week.
Being a principal has had a profound impact on my life. It’s a role that extends far beyond the confines of that big fence, a role that requires patience, empathy and understanding, but one that weaves itself into the very fabric of the community one serves. I know you long for an ordinary life, but principalship has given you much purpose, meaning and joy. Thank you for being extraordinary.
Paul Coach/Mentor The Principals Academy Trust
No: 05/25
26 March 2025
Video/Audio Links English Newsletter: https://youtu.be/cou_Fwu_GxY Afrikaans Newsletter: https://youtu.be/tASTpQecU2k
Dr Mark Potterton, principal of Sacred Heart Primary and joint-author of the powerful DBE ministerial committee publication, Schools That Work, penned an article on principalship in Daily Maverick recently – ‘Carrying the torch for excellence’.
He wrote that the qualities of a successful principal are, arguably, similar to those of a country’s president, but the role of a school principal is often more demanding. Unlike a president who has access to hundreds of staff, principals must navigate their responsibilities with limited resources and support.
But what stands out for me is that presidents and principals are human, too. They make mistakes every day by saying, not saying; by going and not going; by delegating and not delegating; by including and not including; by saying it all or minding confidentiality.
I set out to write about the common mistakes that principals like you and me make, but I was side-tracked by Potterton’s striking comparison.
Writing regularly to the same readers is really challenging. The secret is just to start writing. As EM Forester remarked, ‘How do I know what I think until I see what I say’.
When I look back, I wish I got the balance right, better. I needed to be more astute and more selective about why, where, when and how I used my time and shared it better between school and home. You can be at home but actually at school. You may work with 800 families at school but remember yours is number one.
I think I often made the mistake of dominating the conversation, instead of consciously inviting broad opinion. Our role as head of school often leads us to think that, because we see the bigger picture, we know best. Nothing beats listening and, even if we do know best, the message is often much more effective if it comes from someone else. As a principal, I tried to remind myself often: leading is not all about you.
Choosing a principal is always a gamble because the pressure of the hot seat sometimes manifests itself in unforeseen ways. Too often the senior or untried candidate makes the mistake of using the office as a refuge from those obvious issues – complex or sensitive or conflicting – which simply need a principal’s positional intervention in terms of policy, flexibility, wisdom, experience or understanding.
Problems can be addressed instantly and satisfactorily by the easily accessible, willing, confident and transparent leader. Imagine a 200-bed hospital being run by a Chief Nursing Officer who spends the week behind the closed doors of an office. School or hospital-wide excellence is delivered by classroom or ward standards which are driven and delivered by professional leaders.
When one looks at the issues which get principals into trouble, number one is always financial irregularity. A financial policy needs to be full and followed. Simple, non-negotiable rules which govern control, authorisation and budgeting and navigate the necessary legal requirements. You have to be happy with all financial processes because you’re the one legally responsible; and only you. No mistakes allowed.
I think the biggest mistake principals make is not insisting, demanding and following up on core business like teachers teaching from minute one, like teachers on active break duty, like effective grade and subject meetings, like written-book control and like subject specific competence. I say it often, but we get things wrong by going through the motions of a school year rather than maximising the opportunity to take learners to that expected standard. We leave far too many behind.
If you ask teachers to identify the common mistake principals make, most will highlight communication – that ability to hear, reach, motivate and align every teacher. Having a clear message, especially a vision which people immediately associate with everything you do and say, unites and empowers the staff as a team.
I’ve always believed that great principals lead their school’s staff in person on a daily basis even if you are meeting phase teams today and the full staff tomorrow and even if it’s just a five-minute briefing. Not seeing and leading your teachers regularly face to face is a mistake.
If you ask coaches to identify a mistake, I think the answer will be not sufficient, high-quality delegation. In other words, being tied down to administrative compliance which principals do themselves because they want it right. We should be developing layers and layers of skills, carefully constructed in a working organogram.
Like presidents, principals often make the mistake of trying to please everyone. One of my colleague principals showed me a poster this week: ‘If You Want To Please Everybody, Sell Ice Cream!’
Yes, we are very human, but, fortunately, the idea is to learn from our mistakes. It’s lots of learning because we make them every day.
After four years of high level, mentored service as a registrar, as well as serious study, exams and orals, a doctor becomes a respected specialist. It’s not that simple to gain recognition as a specialist teacher. As school leaders we know our ‘master teachers’ and we do our best to support, recognise and retain them because they are often in demand at ‘other’ schools.
If you carefully analyse your NSC and systemic data, your master teachers stand out like true professionals. Whether in Gr 3 or Gr 12 the master teacher’s star quality is clearly spotlighted.
I just love teachers who are always at their best and demonstrate that wonderful combination of pure professionalism and classroom excellence. Excuse the incessant medical analogies, but I’m reminded of how I feel every time I’m treated for a long-term diabetic condition by my trusted ophthalmologist. I walk into his surgery with total confidence. He has four patients waiting but when I sit in that chair, with the lights and lenses poised, he makes me feel as though I’m his only patient that day. I’m in expert, experienced hands. A teacher with the same qualities changes lives. All children deserve teachers with real passion and care for the children they serve.
To be regarded as a master teacher, there must be clear evidence of taking an entire class to a new level of competence. At say, Gr 3, it is almost certainly an ability to use group teaching to offer more intensive support, to embed skills and to maximise active, participatory and personalised learning in every lesson.
The very best teachers – in terms of the superior performance of their learners – possess that ability to engage learners from the beginning of a lesson, a day, a year to the very end. It’s a standard that’s set over time. The children are taught to be prompt in getting into work mode. They know that the period won’t be about listening or going through the motions or passing the time. It will be discipline, concentration, hard work and dedication from the first minute – and they know that every minute counts.
Think about a top sports team’s practice session. The idea is to improve fitness, skills, strategies and performance. It’s full-on commitment – like any successful lesson. That’s great coaching and great teaching.
Allow me to share a few random thoughts about teachers who stand out:
I was at university for some time forty or fifty years ago (not just before the internet, but before the personal computer) and I clearly remember the huge difference between my history lecturers. One was an expert in his particular field and just arrived with his keys in his hand and spoke for an hour. Interesting, fascinating actually, but one dimensional. The other, who became my post-grad promoter, was obviously also an expert in his field, but he arrived with ten books on the subject, and each had clear markers for the pages necessary to make his point, to guide your reading and to encourage you to think critically about different perspectives and to teach you how to develop your own. He knew exactly what he wanted to achieve, and he invested much effort in preparing himself and his resources. That’s what sets teachers apart. Are you a ten-book teacher?
I love reading biographical information about people who make their mark in business, in the professions, in sport and on stage or screen. When asked about their schooldays, nearly all are quick to identify a teacher who either believed in their ability or made them feel good about themselves or a particular subject which they made come alive in a memorable way. Teachers shape lives, they really do.
Last weekend I missed the Stormers/Bulls game because I attended a relative’s 100th birthday lunch at The Vineyard. Ten of us around a table in one of the most beautiful settings to make a very old lady feel special. She’s a French teacher, a demanding one, and, guess what? She still has four adult students. ‘I’ll stop when I can’t’, she says. ‘I just love it.’
Think of the very best teachers you know; those you search for when a vacancy arises; those who earn universal respect from staff and learners. Personally, and without boasting, I would regard myself as an inspirational teacher whose trademark quality was getting the best out of every learner. That’s how I see teaching. I try to create a climate that one can feel in a classroom. I strive to be at my best and I expect your best. Not many rules necessary. Just the right attitude. It’s how I see principalship, too.
As a school leader, you were most probably first a really great teacher, too. Just as well, because you are the school’s instructional leader, and your job is to develop master teachers. Good luck.
My interest was sparked by a friend’s daughter, an industrial engineer, who works for one of the big four accounting firms. She accepted a transfer from Johannesburg to Dublin this January. What interested me was that she had been headhunted with the sole purpose of training corporate professionals to collaborate smarter, and, importantly, faster. That’s her job; teaching collaboration to highly trained, certified accountants.
Collaboration is a skill listed in nearly all advertisements, and, strangely, we all think it’s something we can do well. That’s, actually, quite far from the truth. As an example, carefully peruse this modern advertisement:
‘Project Manager: This role requires collaborating with cross-functional teams, stakeholders and clients to deliver projects on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards.’
Those three phrases – ‘on time’, ‘within budget’ and ’required quality standards’ are the real challenges which make the collaboration so vitally important. They ring true for school leaders, teachers and even Moms and Dads.
In a school sense, collaboration means working together with other teachers with a view to enhancing classroom practice. This means talking not only about what exactly will be done, but how something will be taught – ensuring total mastery of the content and the skills involved, sharing resources like flash cards, worksheets and online material.
In many schools, classrooms tend to be silos. Too many teachers walk into the classroom, shut the door and tend to their own learners irrespective of their own content proficiency and teaching prowess. I suggest you read the 2018 Needu Report, ‘Breaking the Walls of Classrooms through Teacher Collaboration : How do top-performing schools turn a teacher’s best practice into a school-wide best practice?’
When a novice teacher is hired in Grade 1, the most important challenge is learning to do the right thing – the best methodology for the context in question. That’s a huge ask which requires the total support and involvement (the collaboration) of the school’s collective foundation phase capital. It needs to be shared quickly, like daily, openly and very practically. It’s not just about what we are going to teach in Grade 1 next week, but how best we are going to teach it. That is collaboration and its often more useful than any professional development workshop, because it focuses on active teaching practice in the classroom at hand. Successful collaboration makes an instant impact. Teachers are better prepared, more confident and effective.
Teachers who are natural collaborators are gold. I love Shulman and Shulman’s definition of an accomplished teacher – one who is ready (possesses vision), willing (is motivated), able (knowing and able to do), reflective (learns from experience) and communal (part of a professional community). Do you have such priceless teachers? Encourage them to add value to your department as a whole.
In my experience, it takes one department and a switched-on portfolio head in the school to lead the way. Our best subject team was a group of experienced Grade 12 Mathematics teachers, who, having to teach five Gr 9 classes between them one year, got together for a weekly collaboration where they refreshed their knowledge of the next week’s work, did the teaching individually out loud, each did a few exercises and shared best practice. They walked out ready, willing, able and reflective and far better off because of their communal commitment. Their learners were the actual winners.
One of South Africa’s biggest education issues is the competence of its system – what percentage of Gr 6 or Gr 9 Mathematics teachers demonstrate – in a professional assessment – a fair ability to themselves master the concepts they are teaching? Even in Gr 6 it’s less than half and there are genuine historical explanations. Collaboration which focuses on how best to teach a concept is the most effective local option in pursuing quality teaching in any grade.
I serve two special schools: Molenbeek – in the grounds of Alexandra Hospital; and Mary Harding School in Athlone. They are experts in a beautifully different form of collaboration. Members of an inclusive learning community – class teacher, principal or representative, perhaps a family member as well as occupational-, speech- and physio- therapists combine their efforts to plan and implement strategies in the best interest of an individual child’s needs. Such collaboration may not only be life-changing; it builds trust, brings together different skills and experience, keeps everyone on the same page and boosts a child’s social and learning engagement.
You’re the principal. If you want to promote collaborative practice in your school, you have to lead by example. Celebrate the sort of collaboration you want by recognising and highlighting it when you see it in action. Openly champion a culture of mutual respect which puts workplace politics aside in the interests of better outcomes.
I became a better principal by collaborating with other schools and their principals. I was in another principal’s office a few times every month of my decades-long principalship. All good doctors, engineers or teachers know that no one person or organisation has all the answers.
