Many teachers tend to not see how a school operates from a global perspective. Too often they are looking at the operation of a school from the perspective of the classroom and this is a mistake. The opposite is the appropriate view, the proper and best perspective for observing the operation of a school’s if from the view of the Administration and to take that one step further to the local school council.

Unlike the classroom teacher the Administration is under the scrutiny of the Board and the community. They have to watch all aspects of the operation of the school. When you try and look at the operation of a school from the vantage point of a classroom your perspective is myopic and not able to accommodate the total scheme of things. This is not to say the what the classroom teach is doing is irrelevant, not at all. The point here is that there are many aspects of running a school that affect the thoughts and ideas of what a classroom teacher may want.

Point to keep in mind when working with the Administration.

1. See how the over all school plan is laid out and check if there are points in the plan that are not being implemented, this would be items such as regularly schedule town hall meetings with the teachers, special tutoring programs, or fundraising campaigns.

2. See what you as a classroom teacher can offer as support to the Administration in getting your programs in order. Suggestions such as writing new lesson plans in conjunction with a new District theme for student achievement, or getting local civic groups such as Rotary or Lyons Clubs to help in fund raising efforts for new lab equipment and the like. The key here is to make suggestions to the Administration so that they can make recommendations.

3. Communicate with parents and members of the community to become involved in school programs as support teams.

It is always a good policy to be in a position to offer suggestions in this way you will be a key agent for positive change at school and most appreciated by the Administration.

I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago in Hyde Park Township, near the University of Chicago. As I child I was always drawing and painting. My father owned an art supply company, Favor Ruhl & Watson, where I was able to get all that I needed to progress in my work.

I have always enjoyed portraiture and landscape painting. In High School (Naperville Central High School) I took Drafting from Mr. Pierce. I quickly grasped the principles of perspective and drafting and hence made a career with both Fine Art and Architectural Renderings.

In the mid 1970's I joined the US Navy and was stationed on board the USS Midway, CV-41. The Midway was home ported in Yokosuka, Japan (A suburb of Tokyo). While in service I traveled all over Asia including such countries as Korea, China, Philippines, Singapore, Pakistan, Hong Kong, and Japan. While in Japan I learned Japanese. I speak German and Spanish as well.