Programme 350, Paul O’Donnell on Being a Principal and More (23-1-19)
Jan 23rd, 2019 by insideeducation
Presented and produced by Seán Delaney
Theme tune by David Vesey
On this week's programme I bring you the second part of my interview with Paul O'Donnell, Principal of St. Patrick's National School in Slane. Among the topics we discuss on this week's programme are:
- His work with the CPSMA
- Numbers applying for principalship
- Principals acting as gatekeepers
- Challenges of being a principal with full teaching duties
- What schools are for (and a sense of place)
- What inspires him
- Being outdoors in poor weather
- Outdoor education in the United States
- Questions to ask yourself before applying for principalship
- Favourite book, writer
Among the books he recommends are The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli and Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday on leadership and Messy Maths by Juliet Robertson. He follows Tom Bennett (@tombennett71) and Pasi Sahlberg (@pasi_sahlberg) on Twitter.