We've all done it. No need to be ashamed. We have all waltzed into a year, generally our first, thinking we know how we want our classroom to run. "I'm pretty laid back," you say. Passes to the bathroom? No need. Assigned seats? Come now. Raising your hand? This is a community of learners!
The fact is, most of us do not know the first thing about establishing an atmosphere of respect and authority in a group of pre-teens, tweens, teens, or newborns, for that matter. Whoever they are, we draw heavily on our most recent experience of an academic setting, which for most of us is college. So we don't see the need for bathroom requests, assigned seats, agenda book checks, or various other classroom procedures which seem at first to be suffocating, annoying, and irrelevant.
Things at first are going swimmingly. A quick jaunt to the water fountain, a droll comment to a classmate; it's all very liberal and democratic and sophisticated. And then the last week of September rolls around.
Students aren't doing homework. There is a dull roar emitting from your classroom at all times. You get the sense that students aren't taking your class as seriously as others. You would be correct my friend.
The sad truth is that the first month of school can set you up for a year of success and focus on your craft, or for a year of drudgery and a nagging sense that you aren't so much teaching as tolerating your students. It is not natural for us to raise our hands when we want to speak with our family at mealtimes; or stay after the party when everyone else has left to explain why we didn't end up bringing the chips and dip after all. There are certain requirements that we have to make of our students - which vary from teacher to teacher - that in themselves set the tone of respect, responsibility, and results.
The first day I actually discuss these 3 R's which are the guiding principles of my classroom (more about that in a later post). You have to anticipate and choose very specifically what you will require of students and how the classroom will run as a result. I know teachers who require that their students, upon needing the use the facilities, simply get up, take the pass, and leave. I know others who allow two bathroom breaks per term per student, with a sign-in sheet with the name date and time by the door for those coming and going. We all have our own style. What matters is that you choose a set of rules that you can live by, and enforce.
My rules have changed every single year that I have taught. Don't be afraid to try something new. If it doesn't work, there's always next year. But that first month is So. Important. for establishing your authority as their teacher. If you ask me, it is far better to start out strict and anal, because you can let loose later on in the year. If you start loose, there's no tightening up later.
So think long and hard about what you want, and don't back down. Ask other teachers what their policy is on everything from late homework to class materials. Make it clear to the students from the first day. Write it in your course expectation sheet. Because when the last week of September rolls around, you want to be excited for the next nine months. Not dreading them.
