The First Days of School

While many school doors have already opened for the year, many districts and states don’t start for another week or two. That has me thinking about Harry and Rosemary Wong’s classic, "The First Days of School: How to Be An Effective Teacher.” How many of us read it? I sure did. Someone gifted it to me when I started teaching. I liked it. It was full of advice about how teachers might handle classroom management setup, procedures, and routines. I read it thoroughly and did everything Harry told me to do. (As a side note, alongside with Wong’s book, I was given that ol’ platitude, “Don’t smile until Christmas,” but I found that very hard to do because I basically grinned all year. I loved teaching. Still do, when I get to do it.)

A lot has changed in education since 1991 when “The First Days” was first published — many things that would likely give Mr. and Mrs. Wong a heart attack. Everything is a bit… looser. Parents are generally less respectful and more opinionated. Academic accountability is intense. Physical spaces have changed, with some classrooms relaxing into coffee shop decor. Educators are more focused on relationship-building rather than boundary-setting. We’ve learned how trauma and conflict can affect students, and we’ve diluted the meaning of foundational words like rules, norms, discipline, and consequences. Even attendance is a different game... Even attendance is a different game than it was thirty years ago; in many districts, communities, and states, there is no plan to address truancy, whereas years ago there were literally court hearings for parents whose children did not attend.

Yeah. Harry Wong would have a heart attack for sure.

But even though things are different... many of Wong’s core principles still apply. For one thing, it’s still true that a teacher’s success for the year hinges on what they do those first few days. So, in the spirit of Wong's classic, here are four foundational pillars we can use when talking to teachers about the first days of school.

Classroom procedures. Wong preached that behavior problems stemmed from a lack of clear routines and procedures. That’s still true. Establishing routines right away, following them consistently, and relying on those structures all year long eliminates ambiguity for our students. Clearly answering the question, “How do we do things around here?”— whether you call them “rules” or “norms”— shows a prioritization of consistency and fairness.

Expectations: Fortunately, most teachers and principals go into the first day with hopes high and a belief that it’s going to be a good year. That’s exactly the energy we all need to keep rollin’ throughout the year. We all need to set those expectations high, and prove— through our words and actions— collectively—that we believe the kids can meet them. The bigger message with this, of course, is that we believe— again, collectively— that our classrooms and schools are an awesome place to be and we’re happy to spend 180 days hangin’ out in them.

Classroom setup: The physical space of a classroom or group space has long been a fascination for me. I love couches and soft lights and students choosing their learning area; I also love tight rows and strict seating charts that change only twice a year. How can I like both? Shouldn’t I have a preference? No. Because I truly believe the classroom setup depends on a teacher’s preference, style, philosophy, and approach. I’ve seen wildly successful outcomes from a classroom that looks like someone’s chill living room; I’ve also seen such rooms become a classroom management nightmare. Same with desks in rows and assigned seats. Sometimes awesome; sometimes not. To me, if the teacher has a plan and rationale for the setup and uses those first few days to set procedures and expectations, the physical layout is secondary.

It doesn’t matter how the room looks. It matters how the teacher turns look into atmosphere. 

Besides, there’s another complication: Students are all wildly different from one another, too. Some kids want to sprawl out on a futon. Some kids want to sit at a desk that is theirs and theirs alone. It’s not the futon at issue here— it’s whether there is a place for both types of student to get their learnin’ in.

Lesson planning: Remember the days that lesson plans all needed to be turned into the principal? To be clear, I do not think this is necessary; requiring plans to be turned in diminishes the professional respect that teachers deserve, especially when a teacher’s plan might change within the course of a single lesson— as happens with strong, responsive teachers. So I’m not advocating for principal oversight on a week’s lesson plans. But. Something was lost when lesson plans became less of a thing. Having a clear path forward and a clear idea of what each day, each week, each semester will bring helps eliminate confusion and wasted time. Tight, effective lesson planning is exceedingly helpful for teachers and their students.

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Today’s teachers are spread across a massive generational and training spectrum— Strict or firm or soft or loose or stern or gentle or some mixture of these things. There is no single “correct” approach, but not all approaches are equally effective. Some work. Some don’t. Every teacher’s “first day of school” approach is going to land in a different way. What works for one teacher might be a disaster for another teacher. But Wong’s iconic book was so popular because it gave teachers a standardized roadmap creating a positive, structured, and effective learning environment. Principals have a powerful opportunity to provide a similar, updated roadmap for today's educators. Setting clear, school-wide guidance on classroom procedures, expectations, setup, and instructional planning will be well worth the time.

If you’ve had your first day already, I hope it was awesome. If not, good luck! I’m rooting for you.

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This newsletter is 100% human generated. No AI. Ever.