Terribly

Every coach I knew told me the same: “You’ll miss the classroom. You’ll see!”

I don’t think they were discouraging me from chasing this position, but perhaps they were reflecting themselves on me, someone eager to step outside the classroom to do even more.

I thought about them tonight, as I readied Elena’s uniform for her first day of school. I thought of the one piece of truth in their warnings. The one thing I do miss is the beginning of a school year as a classroom teacher. As a coach, I get to be in classrooms all year long, and I get my fuel from those coaching moments. What I don’t get to do is plan for and experience all those “first times.”

I’ve been meeting with various grade levels to launch our curriculum meetings for the year, and one thing I find myself offering (more like begging) is support as they plan their first days of school. Does anyone want my help when planning their first writing sessions? Does anyone want ideas for offering their brand-new writing notebooks? Would you like me to help you plan those first read-alouds?

I want to be there when students write their first stories in a new class, eager to share them with friends they haven’t seen in months. I want to be there when that new student asks the teacher, “Can I really write about anything I want?” I want to be there when third-graders decorate their notebooks, celebrating an emergent identity that will stare back at them day after day.

I miss that part, terribly. I will always miss it.