Back to School: Five Things to Do on Day One

Welcome back, everybody!

For those of you who are new here, this is my Monday Morning Counselor Message. I try to avoid "business" in these messages, so my colleagues will never find any meeting invitations or announcements in these messages. What they do find, and what I hope you will find as I post them here, are useful tools, personal stories, inspiring quotes, cheesy humor, and whatever else I can think of that will get your week started on a positive note. Regardless of content, you'll usually find these posted first thing Monday morning... but today is a holiday, and I decided to sleep in instead of writing. I hope you understand. Now, on to the real reason you're here.

Today's topic is the first day of school. No, not Harry Wong's book, although that's not a bad read. What I actually want to share is a short list of things to think about as you plan for your first day back. As I started putting this list together, I kept thinking, "These are silly suggestions! Everybody knows these!" But of course, knowing something and remembering it when it's important are two totally different things. I can't tell you the number of times I've slapped my forehead after the answer to a trivia question was revealed (some of us call that a facepalm). In any case, if these are standard practice for you already, just pretend that I'm not insulting your intelligence. And if they aren't, at least give them some consideration!

1) Greet Students at the Door

Building strong rapport with students is crucial to their success in school. One of the easiest ways to get started is just standing at the door as students come in. Smile, make eye contact, and say something kind. You can follow that up with instructions about what they should do next, but start with kindness.

2) Give Students Structured Time to Catch Up

Many of your students will not have seen one another in months, and even though you might want them to be quiet and listen, their instincts are telling them to socialize. Fight it if you want, but I've found more success structuring it rather than squashing it. Whether it's a journaling assignment that they get the opportunity to share or an icebreaker to help you learn their names, you'll get more out of students if they've had the chance to catch up... and it's better that they do it with your guidance than while you're talking. 

3) Talk About Consequences - Positive and Negative

You're going to want your students to know your expectations for them while they're in your area, and they're going to want to know what to expect from you if they don't. Don't stop there, though. Make sure you spend time talking about the consequences of good behavior, participation, perseverence, and hard work. What can they earn? What can they look forward to? What is it about your class that they can be excited about, even if they hate the subject?

4) Start Teaching Procedures

There are a lot of simple frustrations you can avoid if you just teach students early on the "hows" of your classroom. Don't overload them with every procedure for the year, though. Teach the ones that will be relevent on day one, and maybe day two. Save the others for later. Our brains can only handle so much at a time, and beyond a certain point, you're just wasting your breath.

5) Keep Students Active and Involved

It can be so tempting to try to explain everything students will need to know about your class on the first day: the supply list, the syllabus, the rules, the consequences, the rewards, the procedures, etc., etc., etc. Trying to explain everything can easily lead to a lecture that is miserable for them (and you!). As you plan your activities for the first day, remember their attention spans, and think back to the last professional development that you weren't interested in but had to attend because the district forced you to go. You don't want to put your kids through that, do you? :-)