A Teacher's Perspective: Coaches I've Enjoyed Working With

When you work with coaches who have been in schools for a while, they’re keyed to the fact that you’re playing to an audience made up of sensitive, interesting, distracted, and (sometimes) hungry children. It’s easier to work with coaches who are sensitive to classroom environment issues, because they know about the concerns, the surprises, and the victories.

As a teacher, you’re always on your toes, literally and figuratively! And when you get to talk and laugh about that with your coach, it helps. Instead of pretending that the classroom is a static, easy to manage place, you both know it’s complex and dynamic.

It’s also been great working with coaches who respect the fact that I usually want to talk that same day about what they observed. They’ll schedule an observation right before my planning period or call me right after school. I guess not everyone is the same way I am—but respectful coaches work out communication routines that work for each of the teachers they work with.