Being a principal. That is about it. It is rewarding. It gives me a lot
of opportunities to meet a lot of parents, a lot of kids, it gives me an
opportunity to see the difference in ability in kids, the difference in
how they react socially, the difference in their economic situations,
and at times it even tells me the difference in their religious
thoughts. A while ago we were talking off the record what the church
did. But the rewarding thing is seeing what they can do and you get to
see which direction they are focused in. Then you get the opportunity to
see that they stay on that focus. I mentioned a while ago about Brenda
Baldwin and some others--Margaret Will. She was the only girl who played
on the Boys' Golf Team because we didn't have a
Girls' Golf Team. She was focused back then. Brenda Baldwin,
she was Miss Whiteville High School. She would argue about a discipline
problem and she would say, well, that is not right and then I would go
through my procedures explaining how it is right. Then she will say
something else. Now she is a lawyer and she is coming back and talk to
us. You see, those kids were focused. The thing about us is that as
educators and I like to say that as principals--that it is rewarding but
you see people hate for you to question them. You don't like
for a kid to question you. I don't want to do that. That is
not right. You are mistreating me. You have to get them to understand,
I'm not talking about them I'm talking about you.
Your focus is different. They have a different focus than you had.
Eventually you have to go back somewhere along the line when you see
those kids where they have been real successful and some not successful
and you still have to go up to them and this is rewarding,
"Hey, I remember you. Hey, Mr. Barbour, I remember you. You
used to try to make me go to class and I wouldn't
go." We both would laugh. What are you doing now?
"Well, I wish I had done what you told me." Then the
real successful ones like Brenda, "Mr. Barbour, remember when
we were talking over the phone and I remember when you were
Page 21 assistant principal and you and I talked" and I
said, "Well, I never thought that you were going to be a lawyer
but you fussed a lot." That is the rewarding part. Then I get
the opportunity to take her out to dinner because that is what we do for
our speakers and talk with her some more. Then the kids who have gotten
into trouble and they want you to come and say something on their
behalf. So you become part of the community even to those that you think
didn't ever pay you any attention because they are just as
important as the one that went on to be lawyers or pro golfers or all
that. Just to be with them and talk with them and see what they are
doing and how well they are doing and what they say after they have done
something and whether it is good or bad, it is rewarding. Because what
comes out of the bad situation is what eventually comes out is,
"Hey, you tried to do that so it is not your fault,"
is what they are saying but not saying. Those are rewarding things
because now he understands so if he does get out he does understand that
I tried. Teachers who retire write me a letter. Mrs. Harper retired and
I didn't want her to retire because she was a good reading
teacher. She could teach a kid who came from a very low economic
situation and she could take them and I knew that and I would stick them
in there with her and I would just walk away. She would look at me and I
wouldn't even look back. I knew that she would be looking. I
would say, you can handle that and go on down the hall. She would take
them and she would work with them and then she would come back in there
and fuss at me. She had a right to though. She knew I would listen. She
would say, "Mr. Barbour, I can't do that."
I would sit and listen and then when she would get ready to go I would
give her a hug and she was white woman, a fine person and she would go
off and maybe a month later, she would say, "Look what I have
him doing." We talked about that when she came back two weeks
ago. She was just coming through town. She said, I couldn't
pass through town without coming to see you and we sat down and talked
about an hour. That is rewarding so you get it from both ends--with the
students and with the teachers--if you are successful with them. They
know that you are focused. But Mrs. Harper would argue with me forever.
"Mr. Barbour, I can't do that," and I would
say, "Yes, you can. I've seen you do that.
I've been in your class enough to know and I have seen
it." She would say, "But I can't do it,
I'm getting too old to do that." I said,
"That is when you work harder," and we would fuss--you
know what I mean when I say we fussed. Those are the rewarding
experiences from being a principal. The compensation is more
rewarding--you have to have that to survive. Those are things that are
much better.