The atmosphere for the entire educational year is set on the first day of school. There has perhaps rarely been a more difficult or unpredictable return to school life. Whether you have started with offline classes or still staying with the best platform to sell video courses, or combining the two, this year’s back to school will be a very different experience for everybody. So, as an educator, what steps can be taken to make that crucial first impact while also making an atypical back-to-school atmosphere as calm and friendly as possible?
Where do you start with a self-introduction?
Your introduction begins well before you take the stage in front of the class and speak. Long before that, your class will have formed an opinion of you. Were you 10 minutes late, panting and frantically unpacking your bags when you were in the classroom or at digital classes of how to create an online course apps waiting for students? Did you have a full online schedule ready for them?
Your students will remember how you portray yourself in the first few minutes of the day. Imagine arriving a half-hour early if you’re traveling to guarantee you’re well before the students arrive. Consider your environment and how you might avoid disruptions during your synchronized learning period if you’re teaching online. Staying ready and prepared to focus on your new class, irrespective of your instructing location, builds an initial mutually respectful relationship.
You’re demonstrating that you respect your students’ training time, and they should reciprocate.
Coping with unforeseen circumstances
It’s the first day of school after one of the most turbulent years in educational history. Old habits have been abandoned, everyone has forgotten their gadget logins, and the new rules of mask-wearing and social distancing have been laid off. It is already evident that something unforeseen will occur. So be ready to exert authority over the situation, whether it’s an online outage or an unexpected behaviour occurrence.
This is the first trial of your mettle in the eyes of your classmates, and it will determine who they perceive to be in command. In any case, be cool and attentive, regardless of how panicked you are. It may not have a big influence on you, but the way you manage unexpected events will always leave an impression on your students. It will not go unnoticed if you breeze through daily lessons with ease.
Presenting oneself in a variety of ways
Let’s start with the obvious: do not begin class without first introducing yourself and describing your position in their academic lives. Writing your name on the blackboard and explaining something about oneself and your expertise as a teacher is a terrific, old school method to achieve this. If you’re not in a classroom, prepare a small presentation to present yourself or provide a brief written intro before your presentation.
Consider these unique and exciting activities to assist all get to know one other better in order to establish more satisfying relationships with your pupils. You might want to try:
- Favourite ones: For this activity, get everyone compile a list of their favourite things. English teachers, for example, may prefer to concentrate on literature, but anything from personalities to films can work. The goal is to provide some personal information in a lighthearted manner while also learning about your student’s preferences.
- What’s in the backdrop: If you’re taking an online app-based class, you can have a great time displaying your character in the webcam’s background. Encourage your children to inquire about fascinating items they notice, or even organise fun games.
- Write down a list of facts about oneself, half of which are genuine and half of which are untrue. Show your students this list and clarify that only half of the facts are correct. Allow your kids to figure out which lies are the truths. After the reality has been exposed, have your pupils write two truthful and two false claims about themselves.
- Figures: This is a terrific method to reinvigorate your math skills. Compose some information about oneself, such as your age, birth date, family size, and so on. Then, in an attempt to discover your key number, generate some arithmetic problems that must be solved. So multiply 5 by 6 to find your age.
