First Day of School Vol. 1 - Self-Assessment

Teaching is an unforgiving profession; mistakes made at the beginning of the year can take months to undo. We need to be thoughtful and deliberate about the impression we give on the first day.

Even though we are in the middle of summer, it is not too early to prepare for school. In fact, if you have some new, exciting things to try, you are going to look forward to school starting again instead of dreading the end of vacation.

First, spend some time thinking about the impression you want to give on the first day. When you students go home, what will they say when their folks ask, "What is your teacher like?" There is not one right answer: you need to match your first impression to your strengths. If you are more professional and no-nonsense, it would not be helpful to seem nurturing and casual on day one. If you have a big heart unlimited patience for your students, don't let anyone tell you, "No smiling until winter break." You and your students will have a miserable Fall.

Before I share any of the lessons I learned from your 14 first days of school, ask yourself how you stand on these topics:

Discipline
Love 'em up, their just kids.....................................................Tough, no-nonsense

Structure
Students are responsible for themselves...................................Strict daily routine

Workload
There's more to education.........................................................Time is short, we have a
than getting through the textbook                                             lot to learn to get to our goal

Focus
Student-centered......................................................................Teacher-centered
It will mean more if they discover it                         I know what lies ahead, and I want to prepare them

There are great teachers at both ends of the spectrum, and many of us try to live in the middle and get the best of each. Give yourself an honest assessment and build a classroom that plays to your strengths and lets the students develop their strengths as well.

By the way, if you have never seen Harry Wong, you are missing out. He is the master at creating a happy, healthy, productive classroom. We watched his video series at a staff in-service, and he really inspired every teacher in the room, especially me.