Journal of the Effective Schools Project, Volume 5, 1998 Page: 39
45 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Principals are from Mars,
Teachers are from Venus
BY BILL LARMER, TARLETON STATE UNIVERSITY
Principals and teachers have the same goals -- to help
students achieve success. The ESP Planning Retreat is an
opportunity for teachers and principals to move out of daily
time constraints and discover the common ground of
"what's best for the students."Principals are from Mars, but teach-
ers are from Venus. That's why it's im-
portant for all schools to participate
in the annual Planning Workshop
sponsored by the Effective Schools
Project.
A few years ago in a popular book
titled, Men are from Mars, Women are
from Venus, John Gray declared men
and women have different planetary
origins - thus explaining the differ-
ent value orientations of the two sexes.
Men, according to Gray, tend to value
power and achievement. They are
concerned with personal competence,
and they strive to make things work
smoothly and efficiently. Problems are
obstacles which stand between a
man's current position and the goal he
wishes to attain. Problems are to be
analyzed, dealt with, and resolved.
Men prefer to solve problems autono-
mously, in a head-on fashion. Seek-
ing advice about a problem is con-
strued as a sign of weakness, uncer-
tainty or incompetence.
Women, on the other hand, value per-
sonal relationships and the nurturing
communication on which relation-
ships are built. Women achieve a
sense of fulfillment from developing
and maintaining successful relation-ships, and they tend to value a sense
of community and cooperation over
competition and achievement. Among
women, the sharing of feelings is a
natural form of communication, and
offering help is a sign of genuine con-
cern. Women have an inherent desire
to improve people and their relation-
ships, and when women offer advice,
they do so in an attempt to improve
things. A woman receiving advice
feels validated, accepted and loved.
Now, if you'll permit me to stretch the
Mars and Venus metaphor to describe
a small part of the working relation-
ship between principals and teachers,
I'll attempt to connect all of this to
the ESP Planning Workshop. Princi-
pals, be they male or female, are com-
petitive and goal oriented. They must
be this way to maintain or advance
their position in the current era of ac-
countability. Principals must enact
mandates from the school board and
the superintendent's office. They must
meet deadlines, and they must accom-
plish their mission within the strict
confines of an annual budget. A
principal's success depends on his or
her ability to solve problems and to
keep the school running efficiently
with a minimum of disruptions.Successful schools
demand strong
leadership, a high
degree of competence
and a certain measure
of competitiveness.39
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Tarleton State University. Effective Schools Project. Journal of the Effective Schools Project, Volume 5, 1998, periodical, 1998; Stephenville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201682/m1/45/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.