The Greatest Issue Facing Our Nation: The First Day of School

Everyone knows the First Day of School is a big deal. The FDOS (not to be confused with PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome) sets the tone for the entire year, establishes expectations and behavioral norms, and determines the sex of your firstborn child. There seem to be three “schools” of thought (sorry) regarding what to do on the FDOS:

1. Getting to know you- This approach is probably more common among elementary school teachers, but there are plenty of middle and high school teachers who begin the school year this way, too. The benefit of this approach is that it makes the students feel welcome. It implies that you, the teacher, are a human being who wants to get to know these other, smaller human beings. Here are the downsides: In my school, most of the students have known each other since kindergarten, so icebreakers and similar activities are useless to them. Unless you teach first period, they have probably done similar activities in every other class that day and are bored. I know many teachers like to take the opportunity to introduce themselves to the students, but I don’t think this is a good idea either because--spoiler alert!--middle school students are self-centered creatures. Trust me, they do not care about where you went to college, and they do not want to see pictures of the tea cozy you just knitted. While we’re on the subject, neither does anyone else.  

2. Rules and expectations- I’m sorry, we’re supposed to refer to them as “procedures” now. If you have read The First Days of School by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary Tripi Wong, you likely subscribe to this approach. (Also, you are probably a recent graduate. Congratulations!) The Wongs suggest starting the school year by going over every classroom procedure, from turning in homework to sharpening pencils. Although middle schoolers definitely thrive on structure and need behavioral norms to be made explicit, I wonder how much students actually remember from doing this on the FDOS. Think about it--they may have met eight or ten new teachers today, each one with a different system for bathroom requests. Do they hold up one finger or two? Are they allowed to just walk out, or do they need permission? Just thinking about this scenario makes me feel like I need a Xanax.

3. Let’s get down to business (to defeat the Huns)- Some teachers like to jump right into teaching content on the FDOS. This communicates to students that your class is serious and gives them a preview of your teaching style. On the other hand, it could be interpreted as a sign that you care more about your syllabus than your students and aren’t interested in getting to know them as individuals. When I was a student, this was my favorite way to start a new class, but I also didn’t have a lot of friends, and those two things might be related.  

My ideal FDOS would involve a combination of all three approaches. It would keep students engaged while imparting useful information and making me seem caring but also cool. Stay tuned for the plan!