Someone suggested I check out “The Principal’s Office” on truTV a few weeks back and I think I can say with confidence that we are scraping the bottom of the barrel for reality TV.
For one, I’m sure this was reenacted at least a teensy bit, but there are definitely some lessons all of us admin-types can take away from this. For example, you can’t fake the beat-up, here-it-comes-again look on this kid’s face as he walks out of the gym. This kid’s felt the wrath before and knows how this is going to end:
It’s fascinating to watch the principal work, though. Watch how he asks questions and ignores the answers. He’s not really asking. He thinks he knows the answers and is only asking the kid so he can catch him in a lie and further pile it on. Smooth, huh? Yeah. The end part is pretty clearly phony which detracts from the whole thing. But, hey – this is truTV. If it was good it’s be on Fox.
And this kid? I mean, seriously?
This kid is either super-sensitive or the best actor I’ve ever seen in my life.
And finally, I’ll leave you with some comic relief. I would totally make this kid my office aide. He’s already got the discipline code memorized as demonstrated by the whole “paraphernalia/contraband” debate that the admins let themselves get sucked into.
This cat is smooth and he clearly knows how to run the show. The admin tag team just make his button-pushing soooo easy and rewarding that it’s like shooting fish in a barrel.
The next time you have a kid in your office, try thinking about how you’d feel if you ended up on TV. Would you be proud of the way you handled it? Would you be able to say you really listened to the kid? Or was your mind already made up from the start?
Do you sit behind your desk, putting a physical barrier between you and the offender, or do you pull up a chair next to the kid and meet on his level?
There was quite a buzz going around our office about this program. The admin assistants seem to love it.
There have been a few “documentaries” that have really captured teaching & administrator life. But there is a big jump from documentary to reality show.
As long as people don’t take this show seriously, then fine. But if it really is “real” then admin mugging for the camera and choosing to make every line to a student be the money line that makes him or her sound tough is stupidity. While some of that resembles real school, it is far from the full reality. And the first guy is compensating for not having any hair. Yeah, I said it.
Scott you are the best! The whole paraphernalia/contraband kid cracked me up! Once I saw that little snippet of reality TV I had to change the channel. And yes he did indeed read the code of contact from cover to cover. He would make a great dean someday!
Oh and I mean code of conduct and not contract. I hate when I make errors like that!
@Bethany – I agree. In the couple times I’ve seen it, the feeling that it’s more scripted than not really detracts from the “story.”
@Scott – Not all of us baldies feel like we have something to compensate for…
@Susan – I agree. Let’s see about getting that kid into some sort of early admin training program…