Learning on the job is inevitable. Something’s we learn are takes a few hours, days, weeks, a half term, a while academic year even. Some, only moments.
Yesterday I welcomed a parent who felt the need to visit school at short notice and to raise a serious concern. It was, as many of these unplanned meetings are, an important concern.
I opened with “Good afternoon Mr ________, Mr name is Kristian Still.” Using the last name of the student with who he was connect, who the visit was about.
I was quickly and politely corrected with the correct surname. “It’s Mr X exactly.”
In that moment I knew it could have started better. Addressing the parent by the wrong surname was just one of those small things that could have been so easily avoided. After all I would suggest that our parent had been incorrectly addressed before, possibly in the previous conversation, and given the circumstances, this didn’t help.
It could have been easily avoided. I could have just introduced myself and waited, I could have checked our records. It was not a disaster – but a lesson learnt. A quick lesson learnt.
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