Mr. Kidswatter

*For information on this character in the cartoon, see Mr. Kidswatter (cartoon).*

 — Mr. Kidswatter in "A Message from the Principal"

## Mr. Kidswatter

* Heitz
* McCauley
* Schick

## Production Information

### Last appearance

"Rainbow"

**Mr. Kidswatter** is a character in the *Wayside School* books. He additionally appears in the cartoon. He is the principal of Wayside School, and dislikes all of, or at least most of the school's students. He often makes spur-of-the-moment, irrational decisions, and seems stubborn in keeping them. While he can focus heavily on certain things, he is usually shown not to be very bright.

## Appearance

In the books, Mr. Kidswatter is described as having a green suit in "A Bad Word," and in "Eric, Eric, and Eric," he is shown to wear mirrored sunglasses that obscure his eyes. Otherwise, little about his appearance is known.

## Personality

Mr. Kidswatter takes the position of the quick-to-anger principal of Wayside School. His first major appearance in "Eric, Eric, and Eric" demonstrates this. In this chapter, Mr. Kidswatter discovers a mean note written by Eric Bacon, though it is only addressed as "Eric." He interviews all three Erics, questioning them with vast frustration, as seen through his tone of voice and body language. At one point, he attempts to throw a stapler at Eric Ovens to see if he's left or right-handed, and Eric Ovens manages to catch it with his right hand. Mr. Kidswatter oftentimes lets his anger get the best of him, causing him to make impulsive or irrational decisions, such as banning the word "Door" after walking into one by mistake and spilling coffee on his suit in "A Bad Word." He is stubborn, as he claims his decision is final after banning the word "door," and he initially refuses to let another kid ring the gong at the end of the day, as it is his favorite part of being principal. As his name not-so-subtly implies, Mr. Kidswatter hates the students of Wayside School, and frustratedly referring to them as "snot-nosed" in "A Message from the Principal," and usually ignoring their concerns, though as is revealed in "The Gonnnnng," he does want them to like him, as they rarely greet him on the stairs. As is revealed in this chapter, he rarely does nice things for the students, only doing it because Louis suggests the kids will like him more if he does.

Mr. Kidswatter appears to show intense focus when something is particularly bothering him, as he even notices the handwriting on the card in "Eric, Eric, and Eric" is written by a left-handed person. However, when not focusing, he often has oversights in his plans, such as having it so everyone going upstairs stays to the right and everyone going downstairs stays to their left to avoid people bumping into each other, or building elevators that only go up and down respectively. As is seen in "Rainbow," he may occasionally even forget the name of the school he is the principal at. Mr. Kidswatter appears to want more attention, as in "Flowers for a Very Special Person," he is excited to get flowers from Louis, remarking he doesn't have many friends. Mr. Kidswatter is presumed to be unpleasant to be around, as Louis proceeds to refer to him as a "maggot-infested string bean."

Mr. Kidswatter seems to care about his image, as in "Eric, Eric, and Eric," he inquires about a mean note written towards him, and as is seen in "Mr. K and Dr. P," he briefly wears a paper bag over his head so kids can't see that his face is stuck. Additionally, in "The Gonnnnng," after discovering Louis has written books about Wayside School, he is quick to inquire both if he is in them, and if his portrayal is positive. He will, however, go through the measures necessary to improve his reputation if he must, as by "The Best Principal Ever!!!," he actually does pick a kid to ring the gong, hoping it will make him more popular.

## Relationships

### Students

As can be inferred from his name, Mr. Kidswatter does not hold a positive opinion towards the students of Wayside School. In "Eric, Eric, and Eric," he gets particularly upset towards the Three Erics, after reading a mean note written by Eric Bacon. He starts questioning them about the note, and at one point, throws a stapler at Eric Ovens. In "A Message from the Principal," he states over the intercom that he is frustrated with having to deal with the students, and hopes none of them bother him. In "The Gonnnnng," Louis seems to state that Mr. Kidswatter rarely does nice things for the students, and he initially rejects Louis's suggestions to let one of them ring the gong, or get them more balls during recess. That being said, he does reconsider the former when he realizes the kids may like him more.

Rarely do the kids seem to like Mr. Kidswatter much. Sometimes, they are shown to fear him, such as in "Music," where the class goes silent when he enters the room, or in "Eric, Eric, and Eric," where both Eric Fry and Eric Ovens are terrified to enter the principal's office. Most of the time, however, students simply seem to ignore him, or otherwise not take him seriously, as is seen when most of the students simply ignore him when he wishes them a good morning over the P.A. system, as is seen in "A Message from the Principal," or even in person, as is seen in "The Best Principal Ever!!!" Eric Bacon considers him a "Mugworm Griblick" in "Eric, Eric, and Eric," and is fine with lying to his face when confronted about it, while Stephen steals his coffeepot in "A Light Bulb, a Pencil Sharpener, a Coffeepot, and a Sack of Potatoes." As is seen in "The Gonnnnng," the students ignore Mr. Kidswatter when rushing out of the school, greeting Louis instead.

Few students seem to respect Mr. Kidswatter. Sharie is stated to make a rubber-band ball like the one he owns in "The Little Stranger," though this is possibly a simple coincidence. Joy additionally refers to him as "the best principal ever!!!" in "The Best Principal Ever!!!," which he in turn considers "magic words," though it's likely that she just wants to ring the gong at the end of the day.

#### Stephen

One of the few students Mr. Kidswatter has a notable dynamic with is Stephen. Stephen is first seen interacting with Kidswatter in "A Light Bulb, a Pencil Sharpener, a Coffeepot, and a Sack of Potatoes," where Stephen steals his coffeepot. However, their main dynamic comes into play in *Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom*,  as Kidswatter chooses Stephen to ring the gong in "The Best Principal Ever!!!," albeit by mistake; he intended to choose Joy, who refered to him as "the best principal ever!!!," but saw Dana in the process, prepared to point at her accusingly, but ended up picking Stephen, as Dana scratched down to scratch a mosquito bite. Stephen is initially shaken by Mr. Kidswatter picking him, but by "The Moment," promises to do his best. However, Kidswatter in turn seems to have little faith in Stephen, saying he's worried when Stephen says he'll do his best, and questioning whe he chose him. When Stephen successfully rings the gong, however, he is pleased, and lets Stephen shake his hand. Apparently, Stephen is the only student in the history of Wayside School who has done so.

#### Dana

The other student Mr. Kidswatter has a particularly notable interaction with is Dana, also based on *Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom*. Mr. Kidswatter gets into a staring contest with Dana in "Stuck," and briefly refers to her as a "cute kid" before walking away. However, her face gets stuck onto Kidswatter, something he is embarassed by, wearing a paper bag over his until Dr. Pickell cures him in "Mr. K and Dr. P." As is revealed in "Push-Downs," Mr. Kidswatter holds a negative opinion of Dana after the experience, preparing to point at her accusingly, though this leads to him choosing Stephen to ring the gong by mistake. It's possible Dana doesn't mind Kidswatter in turn, however, as she raises her hand like the rest of the kids in the class when Kidswatter is choosing a kid to ring the gong in "The Best Principal Ever!!!"

### Louis

Mr. Kidswatter does seem to hold a positive opinion towards Louis, feeling overjoyed when Louis hands him a bundle of flowers in "Flowers for a Very Special Person." He proceeds to tell Louis that he doesn't have many friends, and always thought of him like a son, but Louis does not return the favor, calling him a "maggot-infested string bean" under his breath. Mr. Kidswatter is shown to trust Louis with bringing the gong to him at the end of every day, though he scolds him for being late in "The Gonnnnng." However, it is likely that Mr. Kidswatter looks at Louis with some level of importance, as ringing the gong is his favorite part of being principal. Mr. Kidswatter briefly inquires if Louis is writing good things about him in the *Wayside School* series in "The Gonnnnng," and requests to write a chapter that makes him look good called "The Best Principal Ever!!!," though Louis claims he will only do it if Mr. Kidswatter does something nice for a kid, like letting one of them ring the gong. When Mr. Kidswatter does just that, Louis is surprised, as in "Push-Downs" he mutters "I guess he really is the best principal ever!!!" upon finding out.

### Mrs. Day

Mrs. Day is Mr. Kidswatter's secretary, and although a minor character, appears to be a level-headed foil in comparison. When Mr. Kidswatter walks right into a door in "A Bad Word," Mrs. Day questions why he didn't open it. It appears as though Mr. Kidswatter doesn't notice Mrs. Day very much, as he refers to her as "Miss Night," but Mrs. Day never corrects him.

## Appearances

For a list of every chapter Mr. Kidswatter is seen in, see here.

## Trivia

* Mr. Kidswatter once had a pet dog, as is revealed in "Mr. K and Dr. P." When asked if he loved it, a tear streaks down his face, possibly hinting at a tragic accident.

### Other designs

Peter Allen design (British edition, 2004)Mr. Kidswatter as he appears in the cartoon. (2005)Unknown illustrator (Traditional Chinese edition, 2008)Satoshi Kitamura design (Japanese edition, 2010)Ramona Bruno design (Italian edition, 2021)
## References

1. ↑ "The Gonnnnng"
2. ↑ "Elevators"
3. ↑ "Push-Downs"