Time is ticking away

It's now the final countdown to the first big break of the school year! I can't believe how quickly time has flown and how much my poor little brain has retained learning this new job! All the new vocabulary, procedures, policies, etc. It's literally MIND BLOWING! 

But the most interesting thing as I look back on the last couple months: how busy a school day is outside the classroom! I had no idea how much stuff goes on in a school outside the 4 walls of students that I taught for all those years. From the deliveries to the parents, the phone calls to the kids in and out of the nurses office, the day is constant movement. One day, I literally was problem solving from the time I stepped foot into the building until the time I walked out the door. Even the smallest problems are important to a 2nd grader, I mean you can not make it through the day without your green marker. And, how in the world do you continue to learn when your tooth is loose and the tooth fairy doesn't work on Mondays?!?

Within all this constant movement outside the classroom, 

I found one of the most important jobs of an administrator: 

To protect instruction time.  

It's my job to protect and value instructional time. Every second counts when you are trying to help a student learn to read or learn the states of this great country. I had to schedule two assemblies recently, and both times I asked the teachers first if they wanted to do them. Not because I didn't think it was good material, but because the instructional day is precious. I missed learning my multiplication table "8s" because I got the chickenpox when I was in elementary school. To this day, I still can't do them. I have to use my fingers, and I reach for the calculator every time. Instruction in the classroom is soo important, I am proof what happens if it's missed.

What has been the greatest lesson thus far in my new assistant principal-ship you might ask?? Making sure that nothing gets in the way of creating life-long learners. This task is second only to the safety of the students and staff. And, if I finish each day and know that those 3 things are done, I can sleep well at night. Mostly because my mind is blown, but a little because I've done my job well.