Reversed Roles
Coming to school and doing the same thing each day, can grow tiresome. Repetition, particularly in schools, can cause both students and teachers to become disinterested. So when art teacher Jeremy Wright, assumed the title of ‘Principal’ after swapping jobs with Principal Bjorn Paige on a seemingly typical Tuesday afternoon, students were actively engaged. The pair decided to switch positions in order to provide a fresh perspective for students and step out of their comfort zones.
Paige had previous experience in both sketching for his high school newspaper and later teaching drawing classes for a high school in Oregon. As follows, Paige was prepared when he took over Wright’s cartooning class, administering his own lesson plan.
“When I became a principal, I always vowed that I would teach. I came into this business not to be a principal, but to be a teacher,” said Paige.
And after a “conversation between two friends,” Paige was able to fulfill his vow.
Wright spent his time as principal in a way he had imagined for years: recreating a story he once heard of a principal at another school. “This principal took some [students] and called them into the office. These kids, when they get a pass to the office, they always think they are in trouble. But he sat them down, fed them milk and donuts, and said ‘How are you doing?’” said Wright. Thus, he spent his afternoon eating donuts and getting to know different SDA students. “We all come onto campus and play our roles. To switch that up, it was such a simple gesture; it was really powerful. Life lessons. That’s what’s going on under all that.”
Though the overall swap was successful, Wright was unable to complete one of his other goals for the SDA: a day without bells. He was even prepared to clip the wires to the bell system with a set of wire clippers.
“I was disappointed to hear a bell at the end of the day” said Paige.