What's on your principal's mind? We pose the questions we know you want to ask. You may be surprised at what you find.(your career)

Be honest: Sometimes you don't understand your principal. Sure, she dressed up like Abe Lincoln for your unit on the presidents, but sometimes you think she's forgotten what it's like to be in the classroom. Sometimes you just want to ask her what she's thinking. We've been wondering too, so we decided to ask. We spoke to a dozen principals in a variety of schools and their attitudes, concerns and priorities were pretty similar. So here's your chance to get inside the head of the head of your school.

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PRINCIPAL INSIGHT #1:

What qualities matter most in a teacher?

Passion for teaching and compassion for students topped the list for most principals. "I'm looking for people who teach with dedication," notes Dr. Yvonne Chan, an award-winning principal at Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Los Angeles, California, and a member of the State Board of Education. "Skills can always be learned."

But, administrators say, this passion for teaching must be paired with compassion--a love of students and the wish to advocate for them and help them reach their full potential. Mike Scholz, who was an assistant principal for 13 years and is now in his first year as principal of Mascoutah High School in Mascoutah, Illinois, says he wants his teachers to be involved with kids outside the classroom. "I look for teachers who give extra of themselves," he says, noting that it's important for teachers to run extracurricular activities and clubs and show up at school events to show how important the kids are to them.

Other key teaching qualities include an interest in continuing professional development, commitment to the overall school community, subject knowledge, and understanding of the developmental stages of children.

PRINCIPAL INSIGHT #2:

If you could ask one thing of teachers, what would it be?

"I would ask teachers to teach and treat all students as if they were their own children," says Sharon I. Byrdsong, of Azalea Gardens Middle School in Norfolk, Virginia, who…