Comments on: What NOT to Do the First Day of School

By: Alexx Seipp

Alexx Seipp — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 07:03:17 +0000

In reply to Rob. Thanks for your thoughts, Rob! Different teachers definitely have different styles that work for them. :) I definitely did team building/get to know each other activities on the first day, but they were also structured. :)

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:22:34 +0000

In reply to Kelley. Agreed!? The first day is suppose to be fun, full of team building activities and individual ones. My school uses the flex seating idea and we don’t have assigned seating. Some of these suggestions may be good for a first year educator but a well seasoned one knows what works for them. The “X List of Don’ts and Dos” for the first day aren’t one size fits all, even with this list. Just comes off generic like other educator blogs and reworded.

By: Ray Burns

Ray Burns — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 11:13:52 +0000

In reply to Kailynn Rude. I would highly recommend the book...Teach Like A Champion 2.0!!!! by Doug Lemov

By: Alexx Seipp

Alexx Seipp — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 07:12:45 +0000

In reply to Kelley. Thank you for sharing your feedback! I can see how you might have a different perspective as a Pre-K teacher, as it's usually their first school experience. We aren't completely against fun, just cautioning against out of control fun. ;)

By: Kelley

Kelley — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 19:41:27 +0000

I see that this post was created several years ago…and I hope that can only mean that several of your “not-to-do’s” has changed due to perspective over these years. I am a 20+ year teacher and I can tell you that I (respectfully) disagree with you on a lot of your advice. I did teach Pre-K for 10 years which molded me into the teacher that I am today. I have been in upper elementary every since and I can tell you that, even in upper elementary, these students need to walk into our building feeling like this is going to be a fun place to learn. We do have a lot of fun the first day and they leave school WANTING to come back the next day. I feel that many of your suggestions would create quite the opposite. We also have school t-shirts printed each year that we wear on the first day. This helps parents identify school faculty and staff. I think “dressing down” is yet another way to make parents and students feel welcomed and not so intimidated. I know that we may have to agree to disagree, but I have found so many positives in implementing many practices that are in stark contrast to your suggestions. I do not mean this to sound like I am attacking or anything…just want to offer a little different perspective and how this can be equally effective.

By: Linda Kardamis

Linda Kardamis — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 10:57:17 +0000

In reply to Anonymous.

Thank you so much for sharing your perspective. I want to clarify a bit, since I know it’s hard to get a true flavor of my recommendations from just one article. You are absolutely right that teachers need to be approachable – that’s so important! If you read through the various articles on the site and listen to our podcast, I hope you’d be able to tell how much we value good student-teacher relationships. However, I’ve also learned from sad experience that an out-of-control classroom can ruin that relationship just as fast as anything else. The best teachers are both kind and strict – building important relationships while also holding students accountable.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Jul 2019 23:34:13 +0000

As a student, I can see how many of these could be helpful from a teacher’s perspective, but concerning tips 1, 3, 6, and 7, I would absolutely disagree. Maybe these will help you “control” your class (which isn’t a good mentality to have in the first place), but I can guarantee you’re only setting yourself up for your students to dislike you. Chances are, students already know your reputation and teaching style from your past students, so you’re not fooling anyone by dressing formal and having your schedule laid out “to the minute”. You’re simply setting an unreasonable precedent for yourself by making students think you will ALWAYS have a detailed plan each day, so unless you’re willing to hold yourself to that standard, and hold yourself accountable to be “THAT” teacher, you’re not doing yourself any good, and are, yet again, setting yourself up for your students to dislike you. By being this generally strict, tediously planned out teacher, students don’t feel that they are in a comfortable learning environment, and I can tell you there is NOTHING worse than having a teacher that isn’t approachable. Want your students to respect you and behave in your class? The answer is definitely not by being strict and giving out busy work. Students won’t care to focus, or bother to learn if they feel that the teacher is only working to complete lesson plans on their own time and especially if they dread coming to your class. Planning things out to the minute will only do yourself harm. While planning is a necessity, every class is different and lessons should be personal to those groups of students and catered towards their questions, needs, and learning styles. Please consider your students and their potentially awful, or potentially great, first day as your priority. By prioritizing YOUR schedule, needs, mood, and desire to “actually teach something in class”, you’re only setting yourself up for failure for the rest of the year. Thought a student’s advice and personal experience might be beneficial 🙂

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 20:50:02 +0000

In reply to Denise Romero. Right- you should give it a lot more time than that since students are learning with you! It’s always important to keep that humble mindset that students are growing with you and as their leader you have their pace set.

By: Banque Mohammed Abubakar

Banque Mohammed Abubakar — Sat, 22 Sep 2018 22:05:48 +0000

In reply to Linda Kardamis. Indeed Linda Kardamis, I would make sure I leave excellent first impression the first day of school to the entire class students for successful academic year.

By: Sommer R

Sommer R — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 18:33:00 +0000

In reply to Suzanne. I also let my students choose their own seats. This is because I often do not have a roster with any significant amount of advanced notice. It also changes throughout the day, often while I am teaching a class. I don't give seating charts until almost 2 weeks in because by then my roster has stabilized and I've gotten to know students well enough to move them around.