Empire High: Ground Zero

However unsure I am about the fate of the EHS Music Department, I do know one thing: I would not want to be an administrator at EHS right now. In particular, I would not want to be Principal Palpatine, who is more under fire now that she's ever been.

This week hasn't been kind to her. The visiting accreditation teams nailed us for failure to implement their suggestions from their last formal visit three years ago (Which included, among other things, a need for a "shared decision making process.") On top of that she's been served legal papers for at least two separate issues. Then add in the fact that she's already built up a long list of reasons why a lot of people (including her superiors) want to see her go.

Not that she's without supporters: She has a strong following of parents who love her because she's catered to their requests for the last four years. (But also keep in mind that these have been the families who have been useful to her; movers, shaker and donators... There are also a good number of students and families who have been burned by her as much as the faculty have been.) She also has the seemingly unconditional backing of the district, who continually come to her rescue because they have to... but I suspect they are growing very weary of the frequency with which such assistance is necessary.

Am I excited about the prospect of these events possibly being the beginning if her swan song?

Well.. first of all, I know from experience not to get my hopes up. Palpatine is a classic arch-villain whose apparent demise is always foiled just before the credits roll. Furthermore, I'm not entirely comfortable with the damage that's being done in the wake of this conflict. It isn't just Palpatine whose been dragged through the fire in the media, it's all of Empire High School. That hasn't necessarily worked in Drama Teacher's favor in terms of the general opinion of him around the school. Finally, I realize know that most revolutions result in a power vacuum that may cause more chaos that the presence of a dictator does. There's no telling whether or not our next principal will be worse. ("The devil you know...." and all that).

In short, I long for it and fear it at the same time.

No matter what happens, I can say one thing for sure: I can guarantee that come next school year, Palpatine's dominance over my being will be shattered by the smallest of creatures.