meanings behind words

One of my key roles as an instructional leader is to act as a “coach” to a number of our year level planning teams. An Assistant Principal dropped into one of these meeting where we were discussing spelling and its place within a series of writing workshop which is really the subject of my next post and left after a few minutes. I went back into my office after the meeting and found he had left this word on my whiteboard.

I got his context (a useful strategy in spelling is to find words within words) but I’ve left the word on my board as I ponder its deeper meaning – is a principal a pal?

I received some feedback from an unexpected source recently a nephew of mine has some ex EPS Year 7 students in his class. When he informed them that I was his uncle they said I was nice because when they had to report to my office for some infraction I got angry for a short while (5 minutes) and then got talking about other things like sports and they enjoyed that. I wonder is that about a relationship where even a principal might be considered a pal.

I went to look up the meaning of the word “pal” and found it derived from the European Gypsies language meaning a close friend or comrade.  A Goggle Scholar search links pal with mentoring.

I now feel I’m moving closer to a professional definition I can “live with” principal as a mentor to others. All this of course plays out within relationships. What do you think?