From day one, I want my students to know that I care about them, I love being with them every day, and I believe in their ability to succeed. It is essential to set the tone of your classroom from the first day of attendance. I asked my twelve-year-old son what he loves about his favorite teacher. He said, “I love that he knows my name, he talks to me in the hallway, and he remembers what I like outside of school stuff.”
The first step in building a meaningful relationship with my students is learning their names (Cooper, Haney, Krieg, & Brownell, 2017). The students and I will work together to build expectations for the year. Working collaboratively on the classroom expectations will give my students a sense of responsibility and accountability (Smith, Fisher, & Frey, 2015). The focus for the first day will be getting to know each other with a few ice breakers.
Works Cited
Cooper, K. M., Haney, B., Krieg, A., & Brownell, S. E. (2017). What’s in a Name? The
Importance of Students Perceiving That an Instructor Knows Their Names in a High-Enrollment Biology Classroom. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 16(1). doi:10.1187/cbe.16-08-0265
Smith, D., Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2015). Better than carrots or sticks: Restorative practices for positive classroom management. Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD.
