First Day of School: Building Relationships
It’s almost impossible to try to figure out the type of people your students are solely from the first day. I would conclude it’s because everyone feels a little bit awkward. And I don’t just mean the kids. Honestly, I always feel a bit awkward! As a teacher, I want to make a good impression on my students while also making clear that I hold high expectations for them, so I do come off a bit stern.
When I met my students for the first time last Monday, I saw a lot of wide-eyed looks. My first class of the day was 11th grade American History and Government. Our school has a cellphone policy where high school students can only use their phones in the cafeteria. So in order to follow the rules myself, I make my students submit their phones at the start of every class in my “cellphone bin”. I explained to my juniors that this would be everyday and a few jaw drops caught my eye in addition to some serious eye rolls which almost seemed to say “is she kidding?” Once we got through that painful interaction, the students got settled into their seats and we all introduced each other. Everyone was very polite and a bit quiet, which I expected on the first day. I like to use time for introductions as an opportunity for my students to share something about themselves that isn’t school related. I want to show them right off the bat that I’m interested about who they are and what they like, not just as my students but as individuals and people.
For my 6th graders I saw way more wide-eyed looks. Our school runs from grade 6–12, so this is the only grade where every student is brand new. All of them quiet because they’re scared of getting any sort of negative backlash on the first day. I always try to make my 6th graders laugh just so they know it’s okay to exhale and encouraged to share and participate. I do a similar version of an introductions round-robin with slightly different subject matter. A challenge of my day is I routinely go back and forth between 11 year old students and 16 year old students. It’s an adjustment that I’ve taken a liking to.
My third class is AP US history for juniors and those students also come in a bit scared. If I have to guess, it’s not because they’re new to the building or school, but rather the mention of their AP exam that’s in May and already a terrifying prospect. I have two sections of AP and two sections of 6th grade and I can’t tell you how many times I thought I was experiencing deja vu throughout the day.
I have reflected on past first days of school and for some reason I have a memory of them being much easier. “Was it really easier?” I ask myself, but when I really think through it, I know that they weren’t easier.
At the start of every school year, I get to welcome new students to my classroom. I get to meet new people and see them grow over the course of the year. I see them work through challenges and reach short-term and long-term goals. I talk to them after school, at school functions, in the hallways, and during free periods. By the time we reach June, I have almost 100 new relationships with really amazing people. So when I enter a new school year, it’s not that it was ever easier on the first day of school, but when I look back it’s those relationships that I remember, not the nerves or sometimes awkward silences of meeting for the first time.
After thinking through this, I exhale too and tell myself “this is just the beginning.” With week 1 down, I’m excited to see how the relationships I’ll have with my students this year will influence my memories of this day 1.
