In this week’s podcast, Dr. Julie Vogel (the Superintendent of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston) attempted to describe what her job was like.  It sounded remarkably like the job of a principal (or a teacher, if you think about it).  The “death by a thousand ‘you got 5 minutes’” was an apt description of the life of a superintendent.  The challenge is to find meaning in the interruptions.  For teachers, for principals, and for superintendents those interruptions never stop!

As an elementary principal, I found the constant interruptions distracting.  In my previous job as a high school principal, I was a little bit more removed from the hustle and bustle of the main office.  Now I was answering the phone, buzzing visitors in, applying the occasional band-aid, etc.  I couldn’t get my work done!  It was when I realized that the interruptions were the work that my approach changed.

Now I would never advocate  principal being on call 24 hours a day.  You do need to shut your door to work on a budget or make important phone calls.  But you also need to schedule administrivia to times outside of the school day.  Give a listen to Dr. Vogel (as well as to my guest co-host, Dr. Kevin Baxter, the Superintendent of the Archdiocese of LA).

Here is the link to the podcast on iTunes. Please subscribe to the podcast so new episodes will automatically download. The show is also available on Stitcher and Google Play. If you don’t have accounts with any of those content providers, here is the link to my basic page with the podcasts.