"The First Days of School"
by Keith Chapman
September 09, 2009
School is on! Parents have been smiling at me for the last two weeks in WalMart. Bring it on! The high school staff is ready. We have been working for a week in inservice preparing for this year. The staff had inservice on Harry Wong's "The Effective Teacher". We started off with the first DVD learning about setting and having positive expectations for our students. Each teacher had to write out a positive expectation for their students in their classroom this year. The next DVD covered the first day of school. In this session teachers had to script their first day of class. Each teacher is at the door greeting students, has an assigned place for students to sit and has an activity for them to begin class. Teachers then find out about their students and get information that will help them connect. This first day is stressed as a very important day in a student's life. The next DVD covered discipline in the classroom. Teachers had to write out their class rules and post them. Classroom management is the key to learning. Procedures and Routines were covered in the next DVD. Teachers had to write up procedures for things they do in class, from passing in papers, to how to ask questions. These need to be told to the students and practiced in the classroom. Cooperative Learning was our next topic. In todays world it is important to work with other people. Students are taught how to work with others and how to be a contributing member of the group. Lesson Mastery taught our teachers what makes up an effective lesson. Planning is a key component in being an Effective Teacher. Our last DVD reminded teachers that they need to attend workshops, steal ideas from other successful teachers and read articles or books. Harry Wong tells teachers that when they quit learning, their students quit learning. We are not only ready for a great year, we are expecting a great year!! Get involved with your child, know what they are doing, know who their friends are and help them set goals for this year and future years.
