Whether it’s your first day of school or just your first day of teaching, standing up in front of 30 or so teenagers can be a daunting task. Learn three simple ways to earn their respect from the first day.
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DRESS PROFESSIONALLY
This should go without saying. You wouldn’t go to the office dressed in jeans and an untucked t-shirt. So why is it that just because you’re teaching high schoolers you feel it’s ok to dress like them?
As a matter of fact, the younger you are, the more effort you should put into dressing professionally. Now this doesn’t mean suit and tie for the guys and high heels for ladies, but it does mean looking well put together.
Women: avoid dressing in short skirts and see-through blouses. We’re dealing with a population of raging hormones! If you want to earn your students’ respect, start off by dressing business-chic. Think New York and Company, The Limited, Gap, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, not Forever 21 or Charlotte Russe! Keep that for the weekend.
Students pay attention to EVERY little detail about you: your shoes, your nails, your clothes, your hair, EVERYTHING! So dressing professionally is key to setting the stage between you the teacher and them the learners.
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BE SUPER ORGANIZED
When you don’t know the bell schedule, they’re onto you! When you can’t find your class rules handouts because they’re on a pile of papers on your desk, they’re thinking you’re a hot mess!
From day one you have to set high expectations, and even if you’re teaching physical education, you have to know exactly where you stand on simple classroom policies like going to the bathroom, asking questions, eating food, drinking water, writing in pen or pencil, chewing gum, dress code, etc. When you waiver, they know there’s room for negotiation.
From that initial contact with my students they know I mean business. They get a copy of their class rules, syllabus for the year of all the topics they’re going to learn, a monthly calendar outlining when they’re scheduled for a quiz or test, notebook checklist because yes I do require they keep an organized binder, parent letter to send home to get their parent’s contact information and introduce myself, and we start learning from day one. I go over exactly where they can find the homework assignments and the PDF versions of all the documents I give them (or expect them to print on their own).
The more specific you are about things, the more interest they’ll put into your class. When you don’t care or aren’t organized, they see right through you and they’ll never prioritize your class.
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LEARN THEIR NAMES
You expect your students to call you by your name and not just Misssssss… or Mister, so why is it that you don’t learn their names too?
Even with a load of 240+ students a year, I manage to learn their names as quickly as possible. Use a seating chart! You don’t have to sit them alphabetically, although some old-school teachers still do that (I hated it because my last name starts with the letter Z so I was always the last one to be seated).
On the first day of school when you call roll use a pencil and have a preset seating chart ready to go (click here for a free template). Many of the electronic gradebooks also have digital versions but that requires you are in front of your computer and I like to stand by my podium when I call roll. Then I transfer the seating chart to the computer.
On that very first day when I start teaching a lesson, even if it’s just a review of last year’s concepts, I use my seating chart to call their names and look their way. Students will respond better to you when they see that you have an interest in learning who they are by name.
So just to RECAP: here are 3 ways to INSTANTLY earn the respect of your high school students from day one:
- Dress professionally (think business-chic)
- Be super organized (familiarize yourself with the bell schedule, have your rules and forms ready to distribute, and know your stance on simple classroom routines like asking questions and going to the bathroom)
- Learn their names (use a seating chart, it really helps!)
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