Nice Guys Finish First!

It has been almost a year since my last blog post.  I really thought it would be easier to post things when I started this blog but I have to admit it has been more difficult than I thought.  Something happened recently that has prompted me to post about a great friend and educator.  I hope you enjoy reading about him.  HIs Twitter name is by his name in case you would like to follow him.   

There is an old saying that good guys finish last.  I guess sometimes in the business world that may very well be true.  As a whole I have never bought into that thought process or theory.  I think that good people do finish first (whatever that means) and are very successful.  Recently a good friend of mine was hired as the high school principal at West Side Greers Ferry High School.  For those of you not familiar that is in North Central Arkansas.  That friend is Matt Irwin (@mmirwin3).  I can think of no one more deserving than him.

I worked as a teacher/coach at West Side for nine years from 2001-2010.  Most of those years Matt was an English teacher at that time as well.  We both were getting our Masters in Educational Leadership at the same time as well.  Being an English teacher he was my go to for grammatical corrections on assignments.  I really had nothing to offer him except advice.  I don't know how good that advice was though.  We spent a lot of time discussing educational issues during this time and how we would handle certain situations and scenarios as administrators.  

When people talk about great educators they often talk about individuals who can build  relationships, bring people together, know their content, and last but not least have a passion for educating students.  He certainly has all of those attributes. Not only that but also has a great passion for the West Side community and will be great in his new role.  

Anytime there is success there is usually a great support system behind that person.  He certainly has that with his wife Kristie (@kbethsmom) who is a great educator herself and his kids that are all grown.  He is not only a great person but they are a great family as well. In order to succeed it is important for people to have great people around them both in their work and their home life.  He certainly has both!

West Side School District made a great decision when they hired from within their own ranks!  He will serve the West Side students and community with great passion!