Taking Responsibility

In Your responsibility preference from Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin,

“Like our control preference, responsibility is a learned skill.”

Years ago, when I was the new head of our department, I learned that a teacher sent a letter home with her students that had erroneous information about our special education students staying home during exams. A parent had called to complain and I was called into the principal’s office and asked to investigate the situation. When I reported that the letter was sent home, I expected my principal to try to sweep it under the rug like some administrators of previous schools where I had worked. Since I had little experience with being an administrator, I didn’t know how to handle this situation. Instead, this principal told me to compose a letter of apology for him to send home with those students. He just wanted us to admit it was an error and it would be corrected. He didn’t give excuses or rationals for what happened. Instead, he said what we would do to correct this problem.

He was truly a role model of what I always thought an administrator should be.

Whenever I faced a problem after that, I would ask myself what my principal would do and it was usually the right thing to do. I learned that it was important to accept responsibility and face up to my errors.

As a child, I was taught to face up to my mistakes and do what is right but it is different when you are in the workplace and supervisors above you have a different opinion. New teachers face this dilemma often. How do new teachers reconcile the two different values? My answer is that if your administration doesn’t have the same values as you, it is time to move on.

Every school that I left usually involved a difference of values. My first Principal wanted me to lie so that we could avoid a conflict. My second Principal want me to lie to a group because he was put into a difficult situation and didn’t want to look like the bad guy. The third Principal I had wanted me to lie in court so I could support his disciplinary actions towards a student. I left all of those positions because my values are important to me. My last position was with an administration that had the same values as me and I was extremely happy teaching there.

There is no shame in leaving a position to find a better position. Don’t stay in a place where you are not happy. Life is too short to do this.

Have you left a position that didn’t have the same values as you? Please share.

Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash