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Respect Yields Respect
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MESPA President Kristine Stueve
September 2011
from MESPA President Kristine Stueve

Respect Yields Respect:
Your character shapes students and staff


Greetings, respected MESPA Colleagues!

Laurence Sterne said, “Respect for ourselves guides our morals. Respect for others guides our manners.”

It is with deep respect for you and the job you do every day that I write this, my first article as your MESPA president.
 
July 1, 2011 was a stormy day in Minnesota and also one of change for me. One day I sat as president-elect and the next as president. More than a shift in days and title, this change is more about attitude and vision. No longer is the anticipation of leadership two years out. The position has arrived and with it a feeling of pride and an awesome sense of responsibility to represent our association with respect and integrity.
 
David Balovich, in an article entitled Respect In The Workplace, states, “Respect can be defined as consideration for self and others.” Today, however, it seems as though many have a different definition of respect or even view respect as unimportant. There is an eroding of the basic aspects of respect that as principals we cannot ignore. As educators we model respect everyday; yet, disrespect seems to be rampant all around us. What can and should we do to encourage basic respect with students, staff and parents? To say the least, ignoring disrespect is sending the message that it is okay.
 
In conversation with a respected colleague, we pondered the idea that it is easier to immediately address instances of disrespect with staff and others than it is to put it off. Doing this may not be comfortable but may be less stressful, in the long run, than dealing with the results of disrespect over time. The question is:  how do we address these situations with respect?
 
Speaking at the NAESP National Leaders’ Conference this July, Jamie Vollmer offered the following strategies he calls the Four S’s. These strategies might be shared with staff to promote a more positive building climate.
 
  1. Stop badmouthing each other in public. This “trash talk” is everywhere and it must stop.
  2. Shift your attention from the negative to the positive. You will get better at what you practice.
  3. Share something positive with your neighbor. We need to do a better job of sharing the good things.
  4. Sustain. Try to keep working at the previous three items. Ask yourself, how many positive things did I share this week?
With Vollmer’s Four S’s in mind I will do my best to represent MESPA with respect by:
  • Honoring the fact that I am a representative for 950+ awesome principals, not just myself.
  • Being an advocate for MESPA’s Legislative platform.
  • Strengthening my Legislative awareness.
  • Being a visible and active participant at association and division events.
  • Meeting as many of our members as possible.
  • Presenting myself in a poised and professional manner.
  • Actively promoting and speaking positively about our association.
  • Striving to practice respect each and every day.
  • Maintaining an attitude of gratefulness.
  • Continuing to honor my parents, friends, and colleagues who have been instrumental in helping shape my character, even today.
Let your respectful character continue to help shape the young people you work with and encourage the adults around you. Dealing with disrespect is in the fabric that every principal wears each day. Continue to ask: What can I do to encourage respect with children, staff, and parents?

“We are building up or tearing down in everything we do. Do we belong to the wrecking crew, or the construction gang?” -- Author Unknown

Let’s be part of the construction gang!

Contact Kristine at kris_stueve@cambridge.k12.mn.us




Mission: The Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association is dedicated to promoting and improving education for children and youth, strengthening the role as educational leader for elementary and middle level principals, and collaborating with partners in education to assist in achieving these goals.

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