Proverb’s Principles for Principals

By Rich Kornoelje

When I made the move from teaching into administration, I felt like the visually impaired man in a large department store. He went to the middle of the store, grabbed his Seeing Eye dog by the tail, and started to swing him in large circles overhead. Several clerks rushed to him, saying, “Sir, may we help you?” His reply, “Nope, just looking.” I, too, began to look for ideas. The following pages suggest many ideas that have been selected from a biblical foundation from the book of Proverbs.

About the Book

For the past several years, it has been my privilege to serve in education, most of which have been in administration. I have always enjoyed the wonderful book of Proverbs and have tried to apply many of its principles to my life. Down through the years, it has been interesting to write down some ideas as to how many of these principles have applied to my administrative responsibilities as a principal.

The book of Proverbs is extremely practical, and its concepts can be applied to both public and private (Christian) educators. I have attempted to present the biblical concept, to concisely expand upon it, and to leave the reader with the thought of practical application.

I certainly do not pretend to have all the answers toward improving our educational systems. I have often failed at communication, sometimes saying far too much and other times not saying enough. I have assumed others knew my expectations only to find that my directions were not clearly understood. Several of the principles deal with effective communication.

I have been privileged to have been blessed with many mentors. Dr. Anthony Fortosis often emphasized this verse referring to David, “So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands” (Psalm 98:72).

May it be so for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Aug 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781489723925

Book preview

PROVERB’S

Principles For Principals

RICH KORNOELJE

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Copyright © 2019 Rich Kornoelje.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

LifeRich Publishing is a registered trademark of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-4897-2390-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-2392-5 (e)

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 08/23/2019

Contents

1. Proverbs 3:27 Making At Least One Positive Contact Per Week

2. Proverbs 13:4 Demonstrating Appreciation for Staff Diligence

3. Proverbs 14:4 A Good Testimony Through School Cleanliness

4. Proverbs 22:6 A Fair, Consistent Disciplinary System

5. Proverbs 27:23 The Importance of Long-Range Planning

6. Proverbs 13:17 Keeping all Lines of Communication Open

7. Proverbs 25:11 Timely, Congratulatory Correspondence

8. Proverbs 28:23 Fair, Honest, Straight-Forward Evaluations

9. Proverbs 15:19 Not Being Slothful (Planning and Fitness)

10. Proverbs 25:17 Making Proper Contacts With the Neighbors

11. Proverbs 16:31 Honoring the Aged

12. Proverbs 15:4 Focus on the Stupid Sin, Not the Stupid Sinner

13. Proverbs 12:4 Sincere Thanks to the Spouses of Staff

14. Proverbs 26:14 Holding a Firm Line on Teaching Responsibility

15. Proverbs 20:26 Tough Discipline for Lack of Proper Respect

16. Proverbs 28:21 No Respecter of Persons Regardless of Money Given

17. Proverbs 20:18 The Board Makes Policy… Which You Enforce

18. Proverbs 13:3 Big Ears Lead to Trouble

19. Proverbs 21:31 Enrollment Suggestions, But Don’t Forget to Pray

20. Proverbs 24:10 Rise to the Pressure Rather than to Faint

21. Proverbs 14:15 Handle Everything With a No-Surprises Attack

22. Proverbs 20:08 Being Fair is Superior to Being Liked

23. Proverbs 3:26 Do What’s Right No Matter What

24. Proverbs 12:19 Knowing Who to Believe

25. Proverbs 12:25 Visiting Classrooms and Putting in a Good Word

26. Proverbs 13:12 The Importance of Goals and Going For It

27. Proverbs 15:15 Develop and Keep Your Sense of Humor

28. Proverbs 17:9 Easy on the I Told You So’s

29. Proverbs 25:9 Matthew 18 - From Kindergarten to Board Chairman

30. Proverbs 29:24 Where’d You Get That?

31. Proverbs 27:9 Keep That Door Open and Listen

32. Proverbs 22:10 Knowing When to Cast Out the Scorner

33. Proverbs 11:14 Mentors and Partners

34. Proverbs 29:23 Give Up that Reserved Parking Space

35. Proverbs 15:1 The What Would You Have Me Do? Soft Answer

36. Proverbs 14:21 Servanthood and Projects of Mercy

37. Proverbs 6:20 Discipling Students With Parents

38. Proverbs 16:15 Demonstrating Support and Encouragement

39. Proverbs 25:19 Seeking Parental Support in Teaching Responsibility

40. Proverbs 22:29 Duties Do Not Conflict

Odds and Ends

What greater or better gift can we offer the Republic than to teach and instruct our youth. Cicero

This book is dedicated

to those who teach and to all those who lead them.

Foreword

When I made the move from teaching into administration, I felt like the visually impaired man in a large department store. He went to the middle of the store, grabbed his seeing-eye-dog by the tail, and started swinging him in large circles overhead. Several clerks rushed to him, saying, Sir, may we help you?

His reply, Nope, just lookin’.

I, too, began to look for ideas. The following pages suggest many ideas which have been selected from a biblical foundation from the book of Proverbs.

For the past several years, it has been my privilege to serve in education, most of which has been in administration. I have always appreciated the wonderful book of Proverbs and have tried to apply many of its principles to my life. Down through the years it has been interesting to write down some ideas as to how many of these principles have applied to my administrative responsibilities.

The book of Proverbs is extremely practical and its concepts can be applied to both public and private (Christian) educators. I have attempted to present the biblical concept, to concisely expand upon it, and to leave the reader with the thought of practical application.

I certainly do not pretend to have all the answers toward improving our educational systems. I have, however, made enough mistakes to have gained some insight. I have failed at communication, sometimes saying far too much and at other times not saying enough. I have assumed others knew my expectations only to find that my directions were not clearly understood. Several of the following principles deal with effective communication.

I have been privileged to have been blessed with many mentors. Dr. Anthony Fortosis often emphasized this verse referring to David: So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. -Psalm 98:78