One Hundred Years from now
(excerpt from “Within My Power” by Forest Witcraft)
One Hundred Years from now
It will not matter
what kind of car I drove,
What kind of house I lived in,
how much money was in my bank account
nor what my clothes looked like.
But the world may be a better place because
I was important in the life of a child.
Yes, our work is important work!!! In just over a week the halls of our schools will be filled with children. I know that all of you have been thinking about the school year and maybe even dreaming about it. This is an exciting time for you and our children!
Here are some tips for starting the year successfully and sanely:
Establish routines and procedures early, and have students be a part of these when possible. Remember to teach, practice, practice and practice these routines and procedures.
Involve students in the “rules of the classroom”. Make them feel part of the process so they will have ownership. If students feel as if they have a voice, they will respond positively!
Think about your classroom environment. Is it neat, well organized and welcoming? The classroom environment sets the tone and can determine the student's comfort level.
Plan a fun activity for the first day that helps create community. It should be an activity where all students will be successful. The best way for establishing rapport is to call someone by name. It is a great idea to have an activity that helps everyone learn the names of their classmates (helps you learn them too).
Survey and assess your students. Get to know them as individuals as you get ready to create lessons to meet their needs as learners.
Establish strong lines of communication with parents from day one. Consider collecting the email addresses of your parents and students. You can send important messages, newsletters, and documents electronically. You may want to keep parent communication logs that document when communication occurred, why it occurred, what method of communication occurred, and the result of the discussion. Always try to keep a balance between the 'positive' and 'negative' communications that you make. Don't be afraid to tell parents you caught their child doing something fantastic!
Here are some sites that may provide ideas for the beginning of the school year:
I hope you have a great start this fall. See you at school!
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