I really am not a big fan of moving. The end result is one that I usually find enjoyable, new scenery, furniture, new neighbors, and yet the process of cleaning out, packing and unpacking is about as enjoyable as a visit to the dentist. (No offense to any Dentists out there) My office is moving across campus in order to make room for new positions/classrooms at our school. As I look out into my soon to be former office, I see boxes and furniture tagged with small orange post-it notes and I realize that the act of moving itself is very much about letting go as well as holding onto. A concept that many of in education are often faced with and find difficult to do. In the midst of going through over 12 years of personal and professional files, I found myself with stacks of materials that had made their way from job to to job and somehow remained in my possession. Much of it was recycled and tossed out, but in the midst of all this “junk” I found a real gem. My very first class roster from my very first teaching job ever. There, printed on old dot matrix paper, the kind with the wholes running down the side was my very first list of students, 5 sections, 3 preps, two Theater, three English. It brought back some wonderful memories and put a smile on my face. As I looked down the list I could remember some names and faces vividly, these were my “kids.”
As an administrator, it sometimes gets easy to forget why we started working with young people in the first place. I recall answering a student once when prompted as to the reason I got into teaching, “because I want to leave my thumb print on your brain” I responded. That part hasn’t changed much, as I plan for the fall trimester creative writing class that I will be teaching, I still believe in the untapped creative potential of each student. Each one representing unlimited possibilities, a future president, a prize winning author, the cure to cancer or AIDS. As school leaders, it gets very easy to lose sight of this important part of our work. I feel fortunate to work at an institution where I can take part of my day to continue working with students in the classroom. It refreshes my perspective, re-centers my thinking and priorities and keeps me in touch with what is really important.
Needless to say, I decided to keep the list and preserve it as a reminder of why I got into education in the first place. It will serve as a helpful “pick me up” on those days that make you wonder why are you doing this anyway?
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