The Big Picture versus the Little Picture (Or, How an Administrator Looks at the World)

I have been teaching for quite some time now, and I have developed a theory about several things - one is fractions (see my FRACTIONS POST).

I have a new theory now called the Big Picture versus the Little Picture.  Sometimes this theory is called How an Administrator Looks at the World.

OK, imagine this…when you are an administrator, you have to look out for everything - and I mean everything - who knows what is going to come at you next?  It could have to do with curriculum, it could be discipline, it could be finances, who knows???  You have to consider everything while trying not to tick anyone off.

When you are a teacher, you worry about your own little piece of the school building.  What's vitally important to you is just a very little piece of the entire big administrative picture.

I think good administrators must try to look at the little picture and make adjustments where possible.  They need to listen - teachers do have great ideas at least sometimes :)

There maybe be a big picture reason why that particular student needs to be in my class, or why I have to have the study hall in my classroom during my free period.  It might be a perfectly good big picture reason, but to my small picture mentality those things just seem like a big pain right in the you know where.

Administrators need to try to listen and explain and rearrange when a teacher comes to them with a little picture problem.  Sometimes the reason can be easily explained - BUT, and this is a big BUT, sometimes the reason cannot be explained for privacy reasons or whatever.  This is where we, as teachers, have to trust in the administrator to make the decision that is best for everyone concerned.

Trust - vitally important - between teachers and administrators.