Teacher question why majority of school principals are unqualified and out of touch

Educators are always expected to be updated with the progressive generation and stay in tune with what works best for them. However, it seems that many senior school administrators, like the principals, are emotionally absent and hold onto outdated notions and rules. u/theneonwind raised a scathing question about this issue, sparking a discussion amongst the people in a Reddit community. The post started with a header that read, "Why do so many principals or VPs seem out of touch or unqualified?"

The teacher revealed that they had switched professions from being an engineer to a teacher at the beginning of the post. "I was an engineer before I pursued teaching. Currently, I have two credentials, but I substitute teach. As a result, I travel around multiple schools and districts. Credit where credit is due, there are some good admins out there. Unfortunately, the norm seems to be that admins are condescending, out of touch, or emotionally immature. Why does this happen?" the substitute teacher concluded their brief post.

Needless to say, the Reddit community jumped into this thoughtful discussion and left their opinions. u/kix_and_stix72 shared, "I also am a teacher as my second career. My first career was as a military officer for 20 years. In researching what administrators study for their Masters in education or doctorate in education, there is very little leadership training. Most of the curriculum seems to be about admin and management, not leading your peers. I think that is part of the problem. I've seen superintendents make mistakes that any good second-class petty officer knows not to do." u/ChatahoocheeRiverRat revealed, "Admins in my school system tended to be former football coaches. The associated skillsets didn't transfer well into an admin role."

uMAmoribo quipped, "A lot of these responses have been talking about climbing the ladder and I think our AP is in this realm, but just a little different. He isn't wanting to climb the ladder. He is just tripping on his authority. He found this power in disciplining students and has taken it above and beyond. He is overworked and overstressed because he wants to have his finger in every pie, so he can be the last word and overall boss of everything. It drives me nuts. He has fulled some teachers into thinking he is working hard, but he plays favorites, targets at-risk kids, ignores rich kids, and tries to be the boss of everything (scheduling, budgeting, classroom management). He is power-hungry. So maybe he's trying to take the principals job but when that day comes, I'm straight up leaving."

u/boilermakerteacher argued, "I think on top of a lot of valid points in this thread, we have to acknowledge that principals and VPs are also middle managers. While it looks like they are running a building, plenty of stuff still flows down from the central office, where they are even more detached from the day-to-day in the schools. Additionally, unpopular opinion time: the entirety of your building does not think/teach like you. You might have some friend teachers or grade-level partners who do, but in reality, it’s an extremely complex environment and set of relationships. One might think as a new teacher that admin is out of touch while a veteran might think it’s supporting what they are doing. In a different situation, it’s reversed. Are there plenty of bad admin out there? Absolutely. But your place in your career is also going to shape your perception along with jadedness, outside stressors, etc."