Announcements I Hoped That I Wouldn't Hear From My High School Principal

If you think that filling the position of a high school principal is an easy gig, think again. It's the toughest job in the school. A principal has to not only deal with his own headaches, but those of his teachers, students, the local and state school boards as well as the community. It's all on him or her, the high school principal.

Sometimes he or she wins. Sometimes he or she doesn't. I think that the reason for so many high school principals resigning to find other vocations is the number of failures of the principal and his staff and the overall toll it takes on them. To gain a wider prospective on life, one just has to be a high school principal for one week.

Could you handle this job? I couldn't. And I am not the least bit ashamed to admit it.

Fact is, the principal has "the" ultimate power, or "the" boss where he works. From his daily announcements via intercom in the morning before the school day starts, to the after-school counseling to a troubled-student who may not pass to the next grade. The principal sometimes is "the" one who has to step-up and take charge of whatever situation his school may hand him.

And speaking now of the announcements the principal makes each day. I know from first-hand experience the stress and worry that I felt from having to listen to my high school principal whose power was out in the open and he never denied that he "ran the show" at my high school.

Actually I dreaded "that" part of my school day. His announcements. And you bet your turnip farm that there were certain . . .

Announcements I Hoped That I Wouldn't Hear From My High School Principal

• "Mid-terms will begin this week. Not next week."
• "Past-due library book fees will be paid today or offenders will be suspended for two days."
• "Our lunch room will be open today." (We hated the slop our lunch room personnel served. And we prayed that our State Board of Health would come by and shut this garbage hole down).
• "Locker inspection will take place at first break. Hope you are prepared."
• "Boys, if your hair touches your shirt collar today, you will be suspended long enough to get it cut within my guidelines."
• "Mr. Moore's second period Ag Class will be helping with our cheerleaders' homecoming float." (This was not a good announcement. It wasn't like we guys would be interacting with our hot cheerleaders. No. We were the pack mules who shouldered the heavy-moving tasks.)
• "Pep rally for Friday has been canceled due to some talk I heard yesterday of how some senior girls were planning to wear skirts that were not acceptable within our dress code."
• "Princes for concessions in our break area have went-up five percent in order for 'Mr. Sandy,' the snack distributor to break-even on his snacks."
• "There will be absolutely no transistor radios on campus from this day forward. I will not tolerate that "hippy," "anti-establishment: music. We are an American education institution and I plan on keeping it that way."
• "Absolutely no sunglasses will be worn by any student from this day forward."
• "No sneaking of snacks inside our teachers' classes or you will be expelled."
• "If I, or any of my staff or teacher, report to me that some of you are using profane language on school property, I will see to it that your parents meet with me and you to see why you must use this "gutter language."
• "Lastly, will Kenneth Avery report to my office immediately. It came to my attention that you were writing some rather out-of-character stories in Mrs. Young's (real name) English class. Mrs. Young has a heart condition. This is serious Kenneth wherever you are."

I have always wondered what was said at that meeting for I didn't go because Mr. Sargent, rest his soul, our high school principal, had a number of memory problems.