At the beginning of the school year, Tim Lehman started his new career as Assistant Principal of Bethany Christian Schools. In September, Sightline caught up with Tim as he began his new position. A lot has happened within the community since then, each bringing highlights and negative aspects to the job.
When asked about the largest change that came with switching positions, Tim mentioned the new range of flexibility in his schedule. Tim taught middle school social studies for ten years previously, and there are aspects of that that he misses. Tim still teaches AP Government and, although the additional workload can be stressful, he still enjoys being in the classroom setting. Discipline is one thing he has not enjoyed about being assistant principal. He said that this sometimes alters the relationship he has with students. He mentioned that when he was a student he often spent time in the principal’s office, so being on the other side of that is very different and he knows where the students are coming from.
There are many positive things about being assistant principal that he likes. One is the flexibility in what he does. If he gets frustrated or bored of one task, he has the flexibility to go to another, whereas with teaching he had to focus on whatever he had planned to do within that time period. A highlight of this position would be playing tag with the fourth and fifth graders during their recess time. This, he says, helps them see him as approachable and get to know him in a different environment so that they don’t only assume he is the person that they have to go to when they get in trouble.
Tim has noticed that this new position has helped him see the bigger picture with the school’s direction. He enjoys being involved in the school policy. In this way he can help assess and decide what would make Bethany a better experience.