The most significant date on a high school’s annual calendar isn’t graduation day, the open house, the homecoming football game, or prom night. And it certainly isn’t any of the ones when students take a battery of standardized tests that allegedly evaluate their aptitude and/or achievement, but actually just measure who’s best at taking standardized tests.
That’s because the best chance for teachers to plant the seeds of interest and curiosity in their students is on the inaugural day of class. And by happy coincidence, that is precisely the same day on which students get their first and only opportunity to make a good initial impression on the person(s) who’ll be standing at the front of their classrooms for the remainder of the school year.
Like every other teacher, I need to prepare for Day One, since according to amateur philosophers ranging from Benjamin Franklin to Wayne Gretzky (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW_qtpPo-DU), “By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail.”
Like everyone else, young people appreciate honesty, so each year on the first day of classes I inform my incoming 12th graders that “College Prep English” is in reality “Life Prep English.” Not every senior will opt to continue their formal education after high school, but regardless of what comes next, they’ll need to be effective communicators. Once they accept that, impressing upon them the need to hone their reading, writing, listening, speaking, and thinking skills on a daily basis is an easy sell. I tell them that if they’re open-minded and willing to work hard they’ll get significant benefit from their final high school year. However, giving less than their best effort will be a waste of both their time and mine.
I’ll explain how they’ll be evaluated, since while I much prefer teaching to grading, part of my job involves assessment. And as is the case in “real life,” they won’t get credit for work they don’t do, or for classes they don’t attend.
I’ll let them know I insist on students treating one another with respect. That means no belittling or disparaging of anyone, and listening thoughtfully to what others have to say. In short, they’ll need to live by “The Golden Rule.”
I’ll encourage them to treat every written assignment like it’s vitally important, recommending they approach it like they would a college application, or for an unusually attractive employment opportunity. A job worth doing is worth doing right, so if they have to perform a task anyway, why not do their best job the first time? After all, there aren’t always second chances outside of high school. That’s why proofreading everything they author meticulously and out loud is essential. I’ll suggest they approach each written assignment like they’re preparing a letter to their parent(s) asking for a later curfew, or an important note to a significant other.
I’ll also truthfully inform them that the first impression I get of each individual student on Day One is accurate about ninety percent of the time. That’s a nice way of saying I’m dead wrong the other ten percent of the time, which is why I’ll advise them that while it’s okay to inwardly make initial judgments, it’s imperative to avoid acting on them, or sharing them with others.
If Day One’s plan goes well, I’ll know for sure that the coming school year will be a successful one for all concerned parties.
That is, assuming I can come up with a decent plan for Day Two. <
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