Office addicted? Try this three-step process.

Are you feeling isolated and insulated in your central-office role? Tired of being the last to know and first to be surprised? Are your office walls starting to pulse and close in on you like a Stephen King novel? If this sounds like the hook from a late-night TV infomercial promising to rehabilitate your addiction to the office and you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may want to put that remote down and stay tuned.

Last year, I found myself answering in the affirmative to these and similar questions about my personal isolation. I made the first step toward recovery. I moved past denial and realized I was addicted to the meetings, cell phone calls, e-mails and the physical and mental shelter provided by my office environment.

Once I accepted the fact that my addictive behavior was incongruent with my strong belief that you lead by wandering around with purpose and vision, I decided to take action. I recalled dealing with similar feelings as a high school principal by dropping into classrooms. Usually it took about five visits to help bring back my focus on students.

Eye Openers

As a superintendent, I've adapted this approach to create the following three-step recovery process.

* Step 1: Shadow a student.

For my first step toward recovery, I shadowed a 10th grader at Flowing Wells High School. I attended all of his morning classes, which included algebra, anatomy/physiology, Spanish and English.

We often refer to the "aha" experience students have when concepts suddenly make sense following hours of intense study and instruction. Although I have observed hundreds of teachers in my 30-year career, for some reason this shadow experience was a defining "aha" moment for me. Observing these teachers expertly practicing their craft and sensing their real-time impact on student learning crystallized my strong belief that the most powerful correlation to student achievement and success is the teacher's skill, knowledge and attitude.

After thanking my host student for not referring to me as his grandfather when a friend would ask who the gray-haired dude was following him around, I returned to my office, feeling great about taking that first step, where I could see the strong connection between our district's staff development program and classroom teaching and learning.

* Step 2: Substitute for a day.

My next recovery step involved following through on a commitment made at the school district's beginning-of-the-year assembly. During my address, I conducted a lottery drawing. The winning teacher's prize was that I would be his or her substitute for a day. This was an important point in my recovery because the commitment was for a full day, and the winner was a 2nd-grade teacher.

Although the shadow day with a high schooler helped open my eyes, being a substitute for 2nd-graders was a four-alarm wake-up call. Within minutes, it was obvious that my classroom management skills were rusty and, unlike an administrative staff meeting, my positional power had no influence over 25 2nd-graders, all of whom developed a need to sharpen their pencils at the same moment.

Then I was faced with the challenge of transitioning students to recess, special classes and lunch. Needless to say, my ability to help the board of education organize an executive session did not carry over effectively to lining up 2nd grade pupils. At morning recess, I forgot to assign the line leader, which was quickly pointed out by several students.

When I reviewed the teacher's detailed lesson plans, I became excited about the math lesson. I felt confident I could teach the concept of a perimeter.

My excitement, though, soon turned to sweaty-brow anxiety when I asked students to get their rulers out and follow along as I measured a rectangle that I had drawn neatly on the whiteboard. Immediately a student raised her hand and asked which side of the ruler she should use. I panicked. Did we ever convert to the metric system in our curriculum?

I completed the lesson, but I could tell from the glazed look in their eyes they understood as much about perimeter before I started my lesson as they did after the lesson.

Phase two of my recovery process reinforced that teaching is complex and requires teachers to possess extraordinary management skills along with a unique caring attitude to balance patience with high expectations for learning.

* Step 3: Ride along.

My third step involved another out-of-my-office-comfort-zone experience. I asked our transportation director whether I could ride along on one of our school buses for a typical morning pickup.

After getting over my initial motion sickness I was amazed at the number of tasks and decisions we expect school bus drivers to make. My driver safely picked up and delivered her 50 elementary-age students, whom she all knew by name, while navigating morning rush hour.

School bus drivers are indeed the ultimate multi-taskers. In addition to raising my awareness, my ride led me to expedite the removal of an old parking lot speed bump that had been irritating drivers and passengers for years.

Still Recovering

I fully understand that completing this three-step process does not cure my office addiction and that I will be in recovery the rest of my superintendency. I now have a sign hanging in my office that reads: "If these walls are pulsing in, go teach 2nd grade!"

Nic Clement is superintendent of the Flowing Wells School District, 1556 W. Prince Road, Tucson, AZ 85705. E-mail: [e-mail]