The Balcony View

In August of 1987, my mom dropped a high school buddy and me off at Rider Hall at the University of Northern Iowa . We piled out of a Chevy station wagon that looked a lot like this beauty. That August day was the start of something remarkable. The lessons I learned as a student-athlete shaped me in ways that continue today, sometimes without me realizing it. Those intense five years, however, were only the beginning, Now, almost thirty years later, I'm transitioning to the  Department of Educational Administration  at the  University of Nebraska-Lincoln , where I have the tremendous honor of serving as the new department chair.  The excitement of the transition has me reflecting on so many things. The lump I've had in my throat as I choked my way though multiple farewells this spring reappeared tonight, as I wrote notes to colleagues with whom I've been so deeply honored to serve. Rather than focusing on the change as a physical separation and an end...

Nine years ago, I began a role play activity for aspiring principals called A Day in the Office (DITO). I placed aspiring principals in a black box theater with a mock office. One by one, volunteer actors come to see the principals. Most are somewhere between concerned and off-the-chart angry about something. As in the real world, the future principals have to listen, respond, empathize and we hope, deescalate. We don't just throw them to the wolves, though. Among other things, we spend time preparing them with a visit from a police officer who does deescalation training and a theater professor who specializes in professional presence. The exercise became a hallmark of the way we nurture and develop future principals and grew into my second book, The Principal's Hot Seat:Observing Real-World Dilemmas Over the years, we've had some memorable encounters. I won't give much away, because DITO IX is slated for this June, but one particular encounter reappeared last ...