Thoughts on being an administrator...

... not that I'm applying for anything quite yet :) --

But, a seasoned and seemingly highly effective instructor asked me the other day if I plan to go into administration...

Her reason for asking is that I'd given her some good ideas about ways to change her teaching -- and had some creative solutions to a problem she had.

I respect her opinion, mostly because I reviewed her on-line class and it's very good. The material is demanding and the presentation excellent. She's also been around the block a few dozen times and has experienced a wide variety of administrators :).

The thing is, I also really like the teaching part of teaching -- it's fun. Yes, I'm an introvert and teaching drains me -- but, the performance aspect of it is a kick. It's great to see students understand things -- think critically -- and all that.

I'm also seeing how I've impacted students long-term -- one of my debaters is starting grad school in a couple of weeks -- another student who should have been a debater is starting seminary and several old students are back this semester, either in my classes or my office :).

On the other hand, I like dealing with faculty. Yes -- they're a bit nuts, can't reliably follow directions and can be pretty self-centered -- but, at least at BNCC they generally have their hearts and heads in the right place.

Maybe department chair is the perfect position for me? I get to do some of both, but don't have the authority to discipline, so I don't have to do the hard stuff...