Teaching not as easy as it looks
THE worst part of being a school principal is the paperwork, while the best part was being the boss of everyone, according to 13-year-old Ryan Dangerfield.
After spending a couple of hours in the principal’s office yesterday, the School of Total Education (SOTE) student had a good taste of what it’s like in the top job.
Ryan wasn’t in trouble, he was just participating in SOTE’s annual Year 9 pupil take over, where the class runs the school for a day in an initiative to help them see what it’s like being on the other side.
It was hard yakka for Sammy Le Feuvre who helped make some garden beds, assisting the maintenance employee at the school while Anthony Hughes was challenged getting the prep children to listen and do as they were told.
“It’s an enjoyable experience,” he said.
“It really shows you what the teachers have to go through.
“It is especially hard because they look at us as older kids and so don’t always listen.”
The real school principal Richard Waters said it was a useful, valuable tool for the middle adolescents to experience responsibility and a different perspective on their behaviour.
“At that age they often tend to argy bargy more than other years and this is a good experience for them,” Mr Waters said.
“We have a debrief at the end of the day.
“Quite often they say they didn’t realise it was that hard being a teacher.
“The younger children don’t necessarily give them an easy ride, which is good.”
