The First Days of School: Part 2

As mentioned in the previous article, The First Days of School: Part 1, I mentioned that the first few days is about establishing the environment and having the students reflect about their experiences in school. In addition, I provide students personal insights into my time as a student and why I entered into education. During the next part of orientation, I believe it is important to get the students thinking about short term and long term goals. Sure, the students understand that there will be tests, homework, projects, etc. and in order to pass they will need to do well. But this conversation has nothing to do with their goals in school.

What I have the students discuss is their interests, hobbies, post-secondary goals, career goals, etc. Most of these assignments are completed individually and discussed within groups before we discuss it as a class. The goal is to have students reflect personally and clarify their ideas to a small group, to be sure they feel confident enough to reflect as a class. During the discussion, we start to categorize some of their similarities to get students to see the commonalities they have with others in the class. This activity also assists the students in communicating openly with their peers.

Throughout the exercises, I also have the students keep a reflection journal. At this point we do not assess their writing skills; we simply use the journals to get the students to think about their experiences. Most importantly, we use these to evaluate the students’ abilities to write, reflect and provide insight into their emotions.

As we conclude these particular activities, the students are beginning to become more aware of themselves as well as their peers. We make the connections between their hobbies/interests and the class. However, in order for students to set personal goals, I give the students their first homework assignment.

During the first part, we established a class mission statement and belief system. From this experience, the students understand the importance of establishing a framework. Their next assignment is to create a personal mission statement and at least five beliefs. This assignment will serve as each student’s individualized behavior modification system. Interestingly enough, students create mission statements and beliefs that trump all negative behaviors.

Regardless of the infraction that may occur at some point throughout the year, I can always go back to their initial statements and reflect on the behavior as it relates to their mission or beliefs. It is my opinion that I never have to discipline students in the traditional sense. That is not to say that I haven’t had to report student misconduct. I just believe it is better to discuss how the behavior impedes on their success, rather than reprimand them for what they have done. I believe this creates a much more positive environment, as it teaches the students why misconduct will interfere with their ability to succeed in future endeavors.