How I deal with the first day depends on where I’m teaching. In the Public schools, the first day is an opportunity to make sure the kids know their limits and the rules. My classroom is a dictatorship, and I don’t pretend otherwise. I like to think of myself as a benevolent dictator, but the simple reality is that I make the rules, and the kids follow them or deal with the repercussions. I make it clear to my students that my classrooms will be civil, polite, and well mannered. I pretty much use the first day to make sure that the students know exactly what is expected of them. Usually on the first day they also figure out that there are repercussions to their behavior – there is always at least one student that has to test the rules right away. Of course, the details of the first day are very different for different ages. Little kids operate at a completely different level than early teens, and late teens have a whole new set of issues. Depending on the class I’m in, I adjust the delivery and details, but the basic rules are pretty much the same.
Teaching at University (and sometimes High School) is a whole different game. The basic behaviors can (usually) be assumed, and there is a lot less time. I tend to focus a lot more on the issues of the particular course I am teaching. I don’t make a “this is the hardest course you’ll ever take” speech. Students have heard that one so many times that it is simply noise, and starts off the class by reducing your credibility. Instead, I tend to focus on the requirements and expectations for the course. I have taught university classes that require absolutely no out-of-class work, and other classes that require as much as 30 hours per week of additional work. I make sure the students know what to expect. I go over my grading policies, what the major assignments will be, my cheating and plagiarism policy (If I catch a student cheating, they have flunked the course).
So that is pretty much it. Regardless of the age or venue, I use the first session to make sure that the students know what is expected of them, and what they can expect from me. We take an age-appropriate foray through acceptable (and unacceptable) behaviors, and set the tone for the remainder of the year. I don’t buy the “be a hard-ass for the first N days” theory. For me, consistency works much better, so I treat the students the same way on the first day as I will for the rest of the year. Get to know the students, and make sure that they get to know you – and your expectations – and the first day is a success.
