The Principal’s Office
One of my most visited places during my school career was the Principal’s Office. I had a very “dynamic” personality even as a child , and was often what I would call misunderstood. I definitely loved challenging things — whether it be information, assignments or just having to have the last say when a teacher was correcting me — which often led to a “GET OUT OF MY CLASSROOM” from the teacher and a trip down to the front office. My rebel instincts formed way early on in life as you can see :) So my journey would often begin to the Principal’s office and in high school, it was often to the office of Mr. Lenton Pruitt. I would open the door, his secretary Ms. Hollis would see me and say “Girl, what you do now?” I would vehemently plead my case to Ms. Hollis who would then send me back to Mr. Pruitt’s office and during this exchange someone from the class would show up with my write up slip from the teacher to hand to him.
While I knew I was in trouble, I never feared going to see Mr. Pruitt. He would read the write up slip from the teacher , then allow me to plead my case and he would honestly listen to me as I did so. He would then proceed to explain why what I did was wrong and what consequences I would face, if he did’t find me to present a strong enough arguement. Even if I didn't agree with him, I would listen because he was one of the few adults around school who I felt actually listened to us kids. It always made me want to do the same to him, then I would take whatever punishment I received (not necessarily happily) and deal with it.
Even though the “Principal’s Office” is usually NOT a place of good memories, Mr. Pruitt has often been someone I looked back at fondly during my life. While most don’t reflect on this place as a place they learned and grew in a positive way, I actually do. Mr. Pruitt’s punishment often came with a lecture and an assignment. I would hear from someone who would calmly and patiently discuss the reasoning behind the actions he was about to take, and explore with me what I needed to do differently next time. It would often end with me being put to work on some tasks in his office — filing paperwork, organizing folders, answering the phone — things that I now realize he probably did to give whatever teacher I was giving the “blues” a break. To me it communicated that even if I was wrong and being corrected, I still had value and could be an asset to someone AND I was learning valuable office skills. I used to enjoy the tasks I would get around the office helping Mr. Pruitt and Ms. Hollis out, and I think sometimes I got kicked out of class just to go there and help out.
I had not seen Mr. Pruitt since shortly after graduation and this weekend when I attended the Columbus, GA Mayors Masked Ball benefitting the United Negro College Fund, he was the last person I expected to see. As he approached the table at which I was sitting, my mom said “Here comes your Principal,” and I was a little nervous because I realized I probably drove him crazy as a student. When he sat down with his wife, she introduced herself to me and I did the same. I then told her that her husband probably doesn’t remember me, but I was a frequent visitor in his office. He looked at me, smiled and then proceeded to tell my mom and everyone at the table about our visits. He talked about putting me to work when I was in trouble, and how after a while I was just always popping into the office just to talk or hang out — which I did! There were a lot of laughs about those times and I told him I turned out pretty okay after all. He said I turned out more than okay and he was proud to see it!
We don’t often get those full circle moments in our lives, yet when they come it means so much more. Glad to let him know what a positive impact he had on me and to apologize for being a regular in his office…LOL! Even more glad to show him that what he was pouring into us young folks never goes away and is a big part of who I am to this day!
