In early September, as both educators and learners head back to school, many teachers feel anxiety about getting the year off to a good start. Here's some advice from three award-winning veteran teachers on how to set a positive tone for learning that will persist for the rest of the year.
A Climate for Learning
Perhaps the most important action an effective teacher takes at the beginning of the year is creating a climate for learning, these experienced teachers say. Teachers should create a classroom where the exchange of ideas is encouraged, respect for all students and their work is fostered, and a sense of community is established.
Jan Mitchell, who teaches language arts at Marshalltown High School in Marshalltown, Iowa, has summarized these classroom values into what she calls her "ity list":
- Security. Students must feel safe enough in the classroom to take risks in the course of their learning.
- Identity. Each student must be recognized as an individual with unique needs and abilities.
- Responsibility. The class belongs as much to the students as it does to the teacher.
- Dignity. All classroom members should have self-respect and respect for the thoughts and actions of others.
- Community. Together the students and teacher create a support system that encourages reciprocal trust and responsibility.
Mitchell tries to establish the "ity list" as her framework for appropriate conduct from the minute that she walks into the classroom.
Creating a climate for learning can be more difficult for teachers in their first year. As Mary Beth Blegan, who holds a teacher-in-residence post at the U.S. Department of Education, puts it, "setting the classroom environment is key. For a new teacher that means pretending that you know what you are doing."
George Abshire, who teaches mathematics at Jenks East Middle School in Jenks, Okla., adds that "in the first few years of teaching, it's important to realize that you're not perfect, that you probably never will be, and that you must turn your first-year mistakes into your second-year opportunities."
Connecting with Students
Another challenge that teachers face at the beginning of the school year, whether they are in their first or 35th year of teaching, is attaching names and personalities to the multitude of faces that stream into their classrooms.
It can be very hard to ignore the reputation that precedes a student into the classroom, teachers say. A colleague who worked with a particular student the year before may sway another teacher, either positively or negatively, with an off-hand comment and cause that student to be treated unfairly. Teachers need to spend the first couple of weeks really getting to know their students, Abshire says. They should discover "who needs that extra pat on the back," who the student-leaders are, and which learners might need to be drawn out of their shell.
Abshire remembers a particular student who was very quiet and showed no emotion in the classroom until nearly the end of the year. When Abshire finally elicited a shy smile from the girl, and later a laugh and increased participation, the other students were elated and a stronger bond was formed between teacher and students. Those kinds of breakthroughs, Abshire says, are one of the main reasons he loves to teach.
Connecting Students with Learning
In addition to the important bonds that teachers must form with students in the beginning of the year, there is the even more important need to connect students with their learning. Many students have been out of the classroom for the past nine to 12 weeks, and all have had differing levels of stimulation during their summer breaks. With lingering thoughts of summer activities, some students may have difficulty getting focused on their schoolwork.
In lieu of making students write a cliched "What I Did Over My Summer Vacation" paper, teachers need to capture the interest of their students. Blegan, a 31-year veteran of teaching, says that teachers need to begin the year by using "high-interest materials that are easy to focus on." Examples of good September activities include introducing current events into the classroom, providing visual stimuli craved by young children, and using software programs and the Internet to challenge the creativity and problem-solving skills of older children.
The best way to get students to focus on their learning in the fall, Abshire says, is to keep them from straying from their studies during the summer. It is a rare child who will tackle the same amount of academic endeavors in the summer as in the school year, but teachers should encourage their students to continue their education in whatever medium they enjoy. The growth of technology, including the Internet and CD-ROMs, has extended the classroom beyond its traditional walls and has helped to increase students' curiosity and problem-solving skills, Abshire contends.
Connecting with Parents
Another key to preparing for a successful school year is to find ways to connect with the parents of the students. As Mitchell points out, there are three essential communities in most people's lives: home, school, and the workplace. These communities are indelibly interwoven and overlapping. We must never lose sight of this interrelationship, Mitchell urges, and we should highlight the fact that "strong families make strong schools."
There are many ways to get parents involved in the ebb and flow of the school year, these teachers say. Newsletters, volunteer activities, and student-led parent-teacher conferences all encourage the presence of parents in their children's school life.
Abshire, a 20-year teaching veteran, believes strongly in sending home a note with some positive comments as a way of introducing himself to his students' parents. "You can always find something positive to say about each and every one of your students," he says, and by sending such a note, "you let parents know that you are invested in their child's learning and that you care about their child's progress."
Blegen also is a strong believer in connecting with her students' parents early in the school year. She achieves this connection through "interview assignments, whereby kids interview teachers through questions that parents provide, and parents and kids interview themselves through questions that teachers provide."
Teaching and Caring
These experienced teachers also emphasize the need for teachers to show their students that they care about them and their learning. "One thing that we have to do as educators is go out there and start smiling," Abshire says. "We need to take the time to make a difference."
One way Abshire shows this caring at the beginning of the year is by standing at the main entrance to his school and shaking hands with each student who passes through. "Kids need a little love every day from their teachers," he says, "and that love goes a long way into their learning."
ASCD Resources
ASCD Resources
These books, all available from ASCD, can offer guidance on classroom- management issues:
The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher, by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary Tripi Wong (1997). Stock no. 397224. Price: $29.95.
As Tough As Necessary: Countering Violence, Aggression, and Hostility in Our Schools, by Richard Curwin and Allen Mendler (1997). Stock no. 197017. Price: $12.95 (ASCD members); $15.95 (nonmembers).
Discipline with Dignity, by Richard L. Curwin and Allen N. Mendler (1988). Stock no. 611-88166. Price: $9.95 (ASCD members); $11.95 (nonmembers).
Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community, by Alfie Kohn (1996). Stock no. 196075. Price: $14.95 (ASCD members); $17.95 (nonmembers).
Talk It Out: Conflict Resolution in the Elementary Classroom, by Barbara Porro (1996). Stock no. 196018. Price: $18.95 (ASCD members); $22.95 (nonmembers).
For more information, or to order these books, contact the ASCD Service Center at 800-933-2723 or 703-549-9110, then press 2.
Editor's note: Jan Mitchell is the 1997 Iowa Teacher of the Year and a National Teacher of the Year finalist; Mary Beth Blegan is the 1996 National Teacher of the Year; and George Abshire is the 1997 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year and a National Teacher of the Year finalist.