I had two grandmothers. (Well, I guess everyone has two grandmothers, unless they are an amoeba or something of that nature). One grandmother was well off, taught me how to hold my little pinkie up while drinking tea, and was very tall. The other grandmother lived in Yanceyville, NC, made the best lemon pound cake in the world, and was very short.
I know that it is hard for anyone that knows me now to believe, but ask anyone that I went with to Kirkman Park Elementary School, and they will tell you I was one of the tallest girls in the fifth and sixth grade. I was even on the back row for class pictures..and you know you are tall when you are on the back row. Everyone thought I would be very tall, just like my tea drinking grandmother.
Oops.
It turned out that my growth spurt was during those two glorious back row years. And that was it. I achieved my present height of 5'2 (and a half) when I was in the sixth grade...and there I stayed. Just like my pound cake making grandmother.
My lack of height has never bothered me, really. In fact, it kind of bothers me when someone is actually shorter than I am. Don't ask me why. I can't tell you.
When I first began teaching, I was 23, short, and working in a middle school of all places. I have a theory that I should never teach anyone taller than I am..and that kind of rules out anyone above the fourth grade. But this was my first teaching year, and everyone knows you take what you can take to become a teacher..because after that you can always maneuver around to a position that is a better fit for you. The only problem that I had with that first year is that the other teachers kept trying to get me out of the hall to go to class....not my classroom, because they thought I was a student, not a teacher. It took several months for them to get this fact, and even after they figured it out, I still got looks like I was on the wrong planet or something.
In my years as an primary elementary teacher, my height was never a problem. In fact, it is a bonus. You can sit on the floor quickly, get up faster (not as much height to get up with) and it's easy to talk to children on their level because...well, you are on their level.
Then I became an assistant principal. My height really wasn't an issue then, either, because in the world of children, I was not the "real" principal. In fact, I'd be talking to a child about some kind of issue, and they would stop suddenly, give me a stern look, and ask if I was the "real" principal. I would explain that the real principal was busy at the moment, and I was helping her out until she got back from doing "real principal" like things. (not sure what they are, but I am sure that they exist).
When the Rio Rancho District became desperate and hired me as an actual principal, my height became a factor. In an elementary student's world, taller equals more important...or something to that effect. It is also interesting to note that the same equation exists in the elementary parent mind as well.
Robert,who is the assistant principal at Colinas, has been in administration longer than I have. And he is one of the most observant men I know. "The Book of Abney" has saved us from many disasters, and our working relationship is one that I really treasure. We kind of balance each other. Don't ask me why about this either. I don't know why, but I am thankful that we do.
Robert is also 6'7...or as his wife says, 5'19. Needless to say, he is very tall. This factor is very useful at an elementary school. He walks out of his office to talk to one of our students, and their eyes bug out of their sockets. This works with parents as well. He has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know, but when you first view him in the upper hemisphere, it can be intimidating.
I have never viewed myself as being "In charge". It takes a lot of people to run a school, and I am just one of the many people there that make Colinas the school that it is. But to a lot of the children, Robert is in "the principal". The rationale is that he is tall, I am short, and that is all there is to that. This leads to many interesting conversations with children:
Child: "Ms. Moore, when did you become the principal this year?"
Me: " I've been the principal since you've been at Colinas." (This is his fifth year at Colinas).
Child: "But when did Mr. Abney stop being the principal and become the assistant principal?"
Me: "We are both principals."
Child: "But Mr. Abney was the real principal."
Me: "He is a real principal, and so am I. I think it's time for you to go outside and cause havoc on the playground." (Now I really didn't say the second sentence, but I thought it). :)
So the "Real" principal and I will keep on doing what we do, and somehow balancing out each other. I looked at a picture of the two of us at the annual ice cream social the other day. Actually, I had a really hard time seeing me in the picture, because all that was visible was the top of my head, and my eyes. It takes skill to get a picture of the two of together.
But that's ok. Between the two of us, I think we make a normal person. And a pretty good team.
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