3 Ideas to Make Your First Day of School Memorable

They're here! Students with their shiny new backpacks ... or maybe they're grungy new or all safety-pinned and patched with buttons new or already Sharpied all over by BFFs new. Or maybe they're too cool for backpacks and are rolling with the single binder folder with nothing written on it at all.
       And you're there, Starbucks guzzled and waiting to impact their lives for all eternity (aka survive until wine time this evening).
       I've had 14 first days of school as a teacher, so here are just a few ideas to help make this first day memorable.
       Watch the YouTube video of all 13 Secrets here >>> https://youtu.be/p9XQkdt3MJ8

       Smile. A lot. Maybe you've heard those teachers who say, "Don't let them see you smiling until Christmas." Then they go on to rant about students getting all out of control if you don't come across as this all-powerful authoritarian. Well, I'm crying foul on that belief. I'm firmly convinced that classroom management isn't about locking down the fort until Christmas then hoping it doesn't go to chaos too quickly before summer. Sure, we've gotta enforce the rules, but we don't have to be boring, stodgy jerkfaces to do that. Smile and get those relationships growing. Laugh on the first day. Laugh at yourself. Laugh with them. Get them laughing and smiling. You'll love how it helps your classroom management later in the year.

       Don't go over your classroom rules. Yet. Not today. Save that for day 2. If a kid breaks one of the rules, point them to the poster on your wall (you do have your rules displayed, right?!), and kindly tell them they need to follow the rules and that you'll go over them more tomorrow.

       Get them thinking and discussing. Set the precedent that in your classroom, they're going to think. And they're going to like it. So help them like it. Choose a topic they'll love. Be an engaging discussion moderator. Give them time to say hi to the kids around them before they talk in groups about the topic. Find a way to share their ideas without having to stand in front of the class (yet). And through it all, respect their answers. Thank them for participating. Laugh with any of their silliness. Set up a personable but academic mood. They'll love it. And so will you.
       Hop on over to watch the video and share your thoughts in the conversation.
       Got any other ideas to make the first day of school memorable? Share them in the comments section. :)

NOTE: The Wall-E school photo image in the header is used with permission by Meddy Garnet.

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24 Tips for New Teachers that Other Teachers Might Not Tell You

1. It is okay to plan assignments that you aren't going to grade.
2. Be nice to your custodians. They deal with enough crap already. And vomit.
3. Set firm boundaries between home life and work life, even if other teachers tell you it's impossible.
4. Use some of your sick days. Use them for rest. Use them to develop yourself. Use them to travel.
5. Fight the urge to gossip about students or teachers. It feeds negativity in your soul. It also lets teachers know that you're the kind of person who would gossip about them.
6. It is okay to give students full credit for trying so you don't have to grade every question right or wrong.
7. Keep a big hat in your classroom for field trips, supervision, & emergency drills.
8. Keep a beach chair in your room. Take it outside to eat lunch or grade papers. Just get yourself outside.
9. Trade your sit-down desk for a stand-up desk. You'll be way less likely to die of a heart attack, and after the first two weeks, you'll have more energy throughout the day.
10. Empower students to do classroom jobs.
11. Let students prove you wrong. Then admit you were wrong. You will earn their respect and get them paying attention because who doesn't like proving the teacher wrong?
12. Laugh. A lot.
13. Try try try to not take papers home. It's possible. I did it for 6 years. You can too. If you put your foot down and make some changes.
14. Call home when "bad kids" do well.
15. When you don't know an answer, admit it. Then empower your students to find the answer you don't know so they can teach you. Your students will grow to trust you when you say you DO know.
16. Leave your classroom once or twice before Thanksgiving to do something unexpected on campus so the kids will see. Go play with all of them at recess. Join the middle school basketball game. Set up a Thriller flash mob for Halloween. Something that you can do splendidly. You'd be surprised how this show of your realness and coolness will help classroom management.
17. Boys want respect. Girls want love. Give them the unconditional love or respect they need and your life gets way easier.
18. Male teachers: Defend all the girls from sexist or degrading comments, thoughts, or actions.
19. Female teachers: Defend all the boys from male-bashing comments, thoughts, or actions.
20. All teachers: Ban phrases used as insults like "you're so retarded" or "stop being so gay" or any other such language from your classroom that minimize a group of students.
21. Don't yell in anger. Ever.
22. Ask dumb questions. They aren't dumb.
23. Show lots of love for the office secretaries. Lots. Thank them. Lots. You'll be glad you do.
24. Next year, don't forget you were once a new teacher. Help the newbies.

NOTE: The Paper Airplane image in the header logo is used with permission by Paurian.

The Perfect Seating Chart

 

        What goes into making the perfect seating chart?

       Likelyhood to disrupt classroom learning. Vision and hearing needs. ADHD. 504 plans. Effectiveness of group work. Efficiency of handing back papers. Troublemaker quarantine.

       Not until recent years did I include respect at the top of my seating chart  attributes.

       A quick word on my view of respect. I tell my students that they start the year with 100% of my respect. I respect them from the start, and they should respect me from the start. Why should they respect me? Not because I'm a teacher. Not because I'm in authority. They should respect me because I'm a person. A magnificent human being like each of them is.

       It is from this starting block that I let my students choose their own seats. "You know how you are. Do you tend to get 'Talks Too Much' on your report cards? If so, don't sit by your friends that you'll want to talk with. Choose wisely."

       And most of them do choose wisely. This year, I have only had to do two students. And both of those moves, I told them were temporary, that I want them to earn the spot back.

       Maybe you are thinking there is no way that will work in your classroom at your school. I get that feeling too. The desire to have control. But I am pretty certain that control and respect are not symbiotic. In order to have control, the teacher must withhold some respect for a lot of respect. And to give your students unconditional respect, the teacher must relinquish some control or a lot of control

       What I have found and am still finding is that the more respect I give them, the more they learn to self control. And self control always better and teacher control.

       We welcome your thoughts, ideas, and improvements.

Photo Copyright by Frankes (used with permission)

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