Meeting the Class for the First Time
Preparing to become a teacher is a big undertaking. Its easy
to get caught up in getting through college with a degree in teaching, passing
your teachers certification exam, finding the kind of teaching position you
want and getting through the interview that there is one more level of
challenge that awaits you that you may not have put some thought into. That is the moment you walk into a classroom
and face that sea of little faces looking up at you fearfully and you realize,
perhaps with some terror that you really are a teacher and these students
expect you to do the job.
Every teacher has a priority for what will happen in that
first encounter with the class of students.
For some teachers, its important to establish your authority and to let
the kids know you are boss and they will be called up on top live up to your
expectations. For another, the first
goal in that first hour is to just get organized. But its a great idea to think through exactly
how you are going to handle that first meeting so you establish a relationship
with these kids that will result in a very productive and yet happy and
peaceful class time experience each day.
As you look at those eyes staring at you, what do you
suppose they are thinking? Well, it
isn't really that much of a mystery.
They are very curious about their new teacher and the things they want
to know about you are not things they will ask you out loud including…
. Is this new teacher mean or
nice?
. Will she make us work harder than our last teacher?
. Is the new teacher funny or too serious?
. Will she make us move our chairs
. Is this new teacher boring?
That last question is probably the one that weighs on the
minds of most students the most. To a
young mind the one crime that should be punishable by death is for you to be
boring. They are also wondering what
will be the first thing you will say to them to get the relationship
started. They are very curious about you
as a person and if you will make learning fun or, again that terrible word,
boring.
It is a great idea if you take the time to think out in
advance exactly what you want to accomplish in this initial meeting with your
new class. One suggestion that has some
real value is to seek to find a way to move from strangers to friends fairly
quickly and to communicate to the students that you want to work with them as a
team. If you and your students become
one unit with the shared goal of learning what they have to learn to get good
grades to take home to mom and dad and to do so without being boring, you will
have created an educational setting that will be rich with learning potential.
One way to get that relationship off and running in great
shape is to do something unexpected when you address them initially. Tell a joke, introduce yourself with a funny
illustration from your childhood or in some other way surprise your new class
in a fun and lighthearted way. This
communicates to them that you are going to be a fun teacher and that they need
to come to class paying attention because they never know what to expect. With that kind of rapport, you will have
established a relationship that will only continue to open up and grow more
trusting and more productive. And it all
started because you refused to be that one thing that students hate. You refused to be boring.
I Want to Teach in Your School - Author H.A.F
I Want to Teach in Your School - Author H.A.F
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