First Impressions Count

 My New School

Arriving new to a school is always daunting, especially as an uninitiated Head. And i want to do things right - right from start. Even if i’m without out my two deputies. 

I head some 21 class-teachers, 6 (and soon to be 9) specialist teachers (Amharic, French, Music and P.E.), and a whole bunch of Ed Assistants and a babysitter for my 3 year olds. There are also two secretaries and two reproduction officer workers.

I have been instructed teaching staff to be on Campus at 8am for an 8.30 gathering. I have even asked my secretary to invite all the maintenance staff to “Share my Vision” and “We work as Team” before enjoying refreshments provided by an off-site caterer. I have put together a video of my travels around Ethiopia as a “finishing touch”. I’m expecting some 60 people so the only room which will hold the hoards is the dark and dank Dining Hall. 

I’m down in the room at .8am with the data projector (booked up a week in advance and owned by my Boss) and there is no sign of the off-site caterer. I get my secretary to call to find out where she is. There are several sockets, but none which are operational. Nothing else for it but the movie i lovingly prepared will now have to be shown from my Notebook. I’m kinda in a bit of a fluster by now. 

It’s about 8.25, and only about 5 members of staff have made it into the room. I go up to investigate where all the people are. There is a massive queue in front of the Reception disk because many teachers don’t have keys to their new classroom. Worse still no-one on site have keys to the Library or the Music Room where i wanted to run my workshops, and the ICT Room which holds within all the English National Curriculum, Literacy and Numeracy strategies. For “security”, only the teachers are allowed to possess these keys, and the Librarian has already resigned last summer! Only half the teachers have signed in! Maintenance staff who don’t have to sign in are conspicuous by their absence. Amidst the chaos i’m informed the caterer is on her way. I try and gather the troops downstairs.

I know punctuality is unknown in here and i need this to change immediately. I head back down to the food-pit and there are now 7! I believe in positive reinforcement so i draw stars on Post-it stickers and pass them out to my expectant if somewhat reduced staff. (And still no one from Maintenance).

The caterer finally arrives at 9am, and i must have reached a grand total of about fifteen teaching staff. I plead for runners to herd up and dregs. 

At 9.20 there are some 25 teachers and i will not wait any longer. I start by asking those with Post-it! I’m A Star” stickers before launching into a cultural study on time-keeping. I refer to my experiences of manana in Bogota to “Time is Money” in Hong Kong. My point is there are working in an International School and whilst it’s only 2004 here in Ethiopia the rest of the World are eight years on. Start with a growl!

I then go over pre-prepared prompts card on the importance of teams, trying best to be the best and showing respect to all – including the absent maintenance staff. They squint at my photo collage with appropriate Ethiopian sound-track on my Notebook screen and i invite them to refreshments which have finally been prepared.