I actively encourage teachers to develop a classroom climate where students feel like doing the outrageous; where the out of the ordinary and sometimes silly are the norm. How do I foster this environment? First, I model the behavior I want from my student. I am perfectly comfortable in my own skin and am willing to “let my hair down” in the classroom. An uptight and stiff teacher leads to an uptight and stiff class. Get playful! Allow for friendly banter. Put a premium on making your class fun and entertaining right from the start.
I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about and designing my first three days of school. You probably have your routine, and that’s fine. My goal in describing my first three days isn’t to get you to implement them instead of what you already do. I’m more concerned with demonstrating the thinking behind what I do so you can evaluate which if any of these ideas will work for you. As with the rest of this book, this is not an all or nothing situation; you may want to incorporate only a few of these ideas into what you already do. On the other hand, maybe you’ll decide you want to completely revamp your opening days. Either way, I hope these thoughts are helpful.
Nothing is more important to me than creating the proper atmosphere right from the start. No content standard matters to me until I have established the safe, supportive, and positive classroom environment I need to successfully teach my students. Any time I spend on the front end of the year to establish this environment is not time wasted. In fact, I know it will pay dividends a hundred times over before the end of the year.
DAY ONE
The first thing students see when they approach my door is a sign like you might see outside of a theme park ride, a haunted house, or some extreme sport activity. On it is my name and room number and the words:
“YOU’VE HEARD THE STORIES… ARE YOU READY FOR THE EXPERIENCE?!!”
Before my new students even enter my room, they are hit with a rather unusual and intriguing message that plays off the fact that many legendary, often exaggerated, stories circulate around the campus community about what happens in my room. Even if a student has never heard one of these stories, the sign’s message creates an interesting sense of anticipation. They immediately wonder, What in the world is this class all about?
As they enter the room, the first thing students notice is the positive, upbeat energy created by the music playing. I always use music during my passing periods to create an immediate break from the hustle, bustle, and drama of the hallways. It is an audible reminder that they are entering a different world…my world.
Next, their eyes will focus on the desks. Every desk has a paper plate with a can of Play-Doh on it. Across the board, written in giant letters, are the words, “Do NOT Open the Play-Doh!” Already, I am trying to break their pre-conceived notions about what to expect in a typical classroom. My goal is to stand out, to be different from their other classes. High school kids are not used to playing with Play-Doh, and it is certainly a pattern interrupt that breaks the monotony of the typical first day spent reading the class syllabus and reciting classroom rules and procedures. In my opinion, it is far more important to create a unique experience for them on the first day than it is to be sure they know how many bathroom passes they will have each semester and when it is OK to use the pencil sharpener!
I take care of all necessary first day administrative tasks such as taking attendance and checking their schedules to be sure they are in the right place before I “officially” greet them. Once I start, I don’t want there to be any transitions that will slow me down and impede the flow of the lesson. Eliminating and smoothing out transitions is a key element to maintaining engagement and one I will discuss further in the section on hooks.
With the boring stuff out of the way, I proceed to give them what I refer to as “Good Morning Training.” This is extremely tough to describe in writing and really must be experienced to fully understand. Basically, I stand behind my rolling table in the front of the room and draw all attention to myself as I go through a bizarre process of squaring up the papers in front of me, adjusting the angle of the table, and awkwardly straightening myself up to address the class. If done correctly, there should be a combination of a few giggles and many wondering what the heck is going on. I then look up and say, “Good Morning” in a loud, firm voice. I wait in silence until I hear a smattering of good mornings and then storm through the class ranting that their response is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated. “Not one single time will I accept that from you! When I say ‘good morning’ to you, you say ‘good morning’ to me. Not only that, but however I say good morning to you is how you say good morning to me! If I say ‘Good Morning!’ (said with strange accent)…you say ‘Good Morning!’ (said with exact same accent). Let’s try this again, this is your first test of the year and yes…I am grading!” I then return to the front, face the class, and whisper my greeting. They should respond in kind and then I say, “Welcome to class, thank you for coming. I’m Dave Burgess and I’ll be your host on this Learning Extravaganza!!”
At this point, I am off and running. Looking out at my class, I see students looking like they have been hit by a hurricane of energy and a burst of fire. Under their breath students say things like:
“This is going to be awesome.”
“My friend said that this guy is crazy.”
“This guy is totally on drugs.”
What you don’t hear is students saying, “This looks like it is going to be a boring class.” I want them to immediately realize they have entered a space unlike any other they have ever experienced.
Next, I give them a handout titled:
WELCOME TO THE WORLD FAMOUS LEARNING EXTRAVAGANZA!
HOSTED BY: DAVE BURGESS
NOW PLAYING IN SS-9
Notice the positioning that is used in that title. It doesn’t say “U.S. History/Geo 1C.” It says “World Famous Learning Extravaganza.” It is “hosted” by me, not taught. And it is “playing in SS-9” as if they have entered a show.
It is as close to a set of rules and procedures as I will ever give them. I fly through it in a humorous fashion, but really zero in on one item. I let them know this class will be completely different than anything they have ever attended. To succeed they must suspend their pre-conceived notions about what is allowed in a classroom and get into the spirit of helping to create an outrageously fun and entertaining experience. I openly tell them I believe this will be their favorite class of all time and one that they will remember forever… but that it only works if we agree to follow one rule:
THIS IS A NO-MEANNESS ZONE!!
I let them know I will tolerate unbelievable levels of banter, playfulness, and seemingly outrageous behavior for a classroom, but I will never tolerate meanness. All of the fun will come grinding to a stop if somebody is being mean to another student or doing something that hurts another’s feelings. You just can’t teach with my style of openness without emphasizing this rule. It is critical for creating the safe and supportive kind of environment in which creativity, learning, and fun can coexist and flourish. As part of this rule, I also tell them they should feel free to let me know if I am making them feel uncomfortable by drawing unwanted attention to them through my banter and teasing. I want my students to feel perfectly at ease approaching me about any issue that is occurring in class. Creating a place of safety is a prerequisite for the successful implementation of my teaching style.
Once everyone knows the rules, I tell students to