Jon Harper is currently the assistant principal at Sandy Hill Elementary School in Cambridge, Maryland. This is his sixth year serving as an assistant principal at the elementary level. Prior to becoming an administrator, Jon served as a Math Coach and an elementary school teacher. During his ten years as a classroom teacher he taught first, second, fourth and fifth grades. During Jon’s sixth year teaching he earned the National Board Certification, which he held for ten years. Jon is also the host of My Bad & an EDwords Blogger and is very passionate about helping students reach their full potential.

Jon is also the host of My Bad http://www.bamradionetwork.com/my-bad/ & an EDwords Blogger: http://www.bamradionetwork.com/bloggers/blogger/listings/jon-david-harper.

 

Jon has a wife and two young children, and he got into education by substitute teaching while he was waiting to hear if he’d been accepted to med school, but liked it so much he decided he’d much rather be a teacher than a doctor (2:10)

Jon founded the Young Gentleman’s Club working with 5^th grade boys from extremely challenging backgrounds with few role models (5:41)

Teaching kids the ins and outs of code switching (7:15)

Why and when Jon decided to move from teaching into administration (10:07)

One of the hardest parts of being a new admin is feeling like you have to make a decision right away, which usually isn’t the case (17:35)

Make no mistake, being an educator can be a huge source of stress and anxiety (22:00)

When you’re a new administrator, you need to spend the majority of your time building relationships (24:35)

Spend more time listening, and don’t ever get too big for your britches (27:00)

One of Jon’s favorite memories of his education career occurred just last year (30:22)

You might lose some connection with students when you become an administrator, but you’ll also have the opportunity to have deep and lengthy one on one talks and build strong relationships with many different students over the years (33:50)

Some things principals can do to empower and build up their assistant principals (36:47)

Tips for teachers who want to assist and empower their assistant principals (38:08)

Don’t relive your stressful moments by talking about them later (39:26)

A few books by Ryan Holiday that have had a big impact on Jon (42:24)

It’s imperative for administrators to earn the trust of the parents (46:17)

Never forget how difficult a job teachers have, and that it gets harder every year (47:28)

If Jon had a time machine, here’s the advice he would go back and give his younger self when he was just starting out in administration (48:47)

 

Books mentioned in this episode

Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday

The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday

The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

 

Connect with Jon Harper

@Jonharper70bd

My Bad Podcast

 

 

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are interested in educational leadership as an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders weekly to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.

http://www.educatorslead.com