When I was appointed to my present job I felt really good. “Of course I deserve it and I will, of course, be an excellent manager,” I thought.
“I hold a master’s degree and I have ample experience from all the time I spent at some of the best schools in our area,” I told everybody who cared to listen. I was ready.
But when I got to the new school and I entered my office, I felt overwhelmed and a little unsure of myself. When school started I rolled up my sleeves and did what a principal had to do. I began to enjoy my job.
However, there is one particular day that will linger in my memory. It was on a Friday when two pupils entered my office. They had been trying to come and see me but I was always busy when they came.
But on this day they insisted on seeing me. I will never forget the way they made me feel that day or the profound impact their actions had on my life as a principal.
“Sir, we are here to pray for you, if you feel comfortable with it,” they said. I did not feel comfortable with it at all but I lied, saying I would be delighted.
They came around to my side of the desk and asked that I hold their hands and one started praying. She thanked the Lord for bringing me to the school and asked that He sees to it that miracles Âhappened through me.
Overcome
I was overcome by a whole range of emotions unknown to me. I felt elated, Âuncomfortable and responsible. I Âimmediately hauled out a journal to record the extraordinary incident.
Then light broke through my clouds of uncertainty. I learnt more about people and how human relations affected the equilibrium of the school. I started to live the ethos of the school. I got to know the school’s dynamics and I started to distinguish pupils from one another. Teachers became characters and I got to know their Âpassions and longings.
I also became aware of the hardships experienced by some of the pupils and how some were really struggling to survive both mentally and physically. I got to appreciate the fact that success was not a destination but a never-ending journey.
Today, thanks to the power of prayer through the lovely “angels”, I know the importance and reality of daily miracles. I now know that a school is a relationship organism.
Since that day more pupils came to pray for me. I think about that day often, especially on days when I turn into the typical principal who Âdisregards others’ feelings. But I also remember many days when problems seemed to solve themselves so easily that I started to wonder how it could be. I am a privileged person.
Dries de Beer is the principal of ÂHoërskool Schoonspruit in Klerksdorp in the North West. He was a finalist in the Âcategory of excellence in Secondary School Leadership in the 2010 National Teaching Awards.