The Name's the Game

When the assignment came up to create this blog, I was excited and quickly brainstormed on possible topics of interest as I hope to eventually tailor this site to my staff. It was easy to log on, and I clicked on "begin" only to be stuck on the very first step...Naming my blog.

Whoa! Hmm...Huh...Well...

I tried to approach this methodically. OK, it obviously needs to reflect the nature of the blog...education...Let's try the alliterative approach...Carrie's Corner...Principal's Privilege...Coahoma's Clever Column...Texas Twister...All were corny and brought back memories of past bulletin boards. Plus only one of these really has anything to do with education.

It needs to be something snappy and memorable so people can locate it without much thought. Let's try the pun approach. What about "It's the Principal of the Matter" or "Essential Elements"? Again, not quite me.

What about pulling in the mascot? Like "In the Doghouse" or "The Bulldog's Bite" or "The Dog's Snarl." Again, it just doesn't feel like me.

The problem I have is that I feel like a bit of my personality and voice must be present in the blogs I write. Although I do have to keep my audience in mind, I intend to limit my viewership to my staff and for the time being, my classmates.

And that is when I came up with a perfect title that contains a hint of sarcasm, a tinge of impropriety, but deep with meaning. My choice? "That's What She Said."

Yes, I know there is probably a questionable double entendre here, but I think what it does is it reminds me of my first big gaff as a new administrator and the very important lesson I learned, as the saying goes, the hard way.

Twenty-four hours after being crowned, christened, dubbed THE PRINCIPAL, I said something offhandedly to another teacher. I was a new administrator. I don't think the realization of what had happened to me less than a day ago had really sunk in. However, unlike the previous 27 years in education when I didn't think anyone listened or cared about my opinon, I discovered that my words now were not just listened to, they were amplified. The parent found out about my remark and let me know. I hadn't had a call like that from a parent in years. I had just been baptized.

I was horrified and sheepishly went to the superintendent to confess and repent. He kind of chuckled and said, "I think you are learning early on that what Carrie said as a teacher is interpreted a bit differently than what Carrie now says as an administrator." It was a good lesson to learn early on, and I now carefully measure my words.

Every now and again I slip, but for the most part I don't want to cringe when I hear someone say, "that's what she said."