Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam seemed a little envious when speaking to a group of aspiring school principals at 杏吧原创鈥檚 Peabody College of education and human development on June 12. 鈥淲hat you all do is cool,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is zero question your job matters.鈥�
Haslam said that had he not gone in to politics, he might have liked to be a history teacher and a JV basketball coach. 鈥淣ot the varsity,鈥� he quickly emphasized.
The governor鈥檚 remarks came during a candid conversation on leadership with a group of fellows of the , which Haslam established in 2016 to build a pipeline for effective principals across the state. The academy is jointly administered by the Tennessee Department of Education and Peabody College faculty.
骋础厂尝鈥檚 third cohort of 25 fellows were in residence on campus as part of their year-long training. Selection as a fellow is highly competitive.
Responding to questions from Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen as well as from GASL participants, Haslam said he sees principals as the critical ingredient for making a school successful.
Currently in his eighth year as governor and as the mayor of Knoxville before that, Haslam has had time to hone the thoughts on leadership he shared with the group.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about hiring great people, period,鈥� he said. Having the right people at hand is important to addressing problems when things inevitably go wrong. He said he looks for individuals who have humility but who hustle, and for those who are smart enough to quickly and realistically assess a situation.
It helps to know what you don鈥檛 know, he said. 鈥淧eople who get in trouble don鈥檛 know what they don鈥檛 know.鈥�
鈥淲hen you become principal, even if you鈥檝e been assistant principal, there鈥檚 going to be a lot that you don鈥檛 know and that鈥檚 ok鈥ou can鈥檛 let your own insecurities take over while you鈥檙e in the process of learning.鈥�
The GASL fellows were eager to know other things, from Haslam鈥檚 thoughts on school choice to the books that have influenced him.
Jordan Littleton Hughes, who was recently named principal of in east Tennessee鈥檚 Washington County, said the governor鈥檚 visit inspired her.
鈥淚t feels invigorating to hear our governor speak so passionately about education,鈥� Hughes said. 鈥淚n facing all the problems of our future with our gaps between the wealthy and the poor widening, education is the golden ticket. It has been an honor to be in GASL and take part in this experience.鈥�
Haslam affirmed that he sees himself continuing to be involved in education even after leaving the governorship in 2019.
This should come as no surprise. In introducing the governor, Peabody Dean Camilla P. Benbow thanked him 鈥渇or being truly an education governor. We can talk about supporting education, or we can walk the talk. You have done the walking and the talking.鈥�