Carla Hayes
Probably the most important task that any teacher must
do on the first day of school is acquainting students with
classroom rules and procedures, the discipline policy and
the course requirements. This is especially important if you
are a blind teacher because some students may try to take
advantage of you more than they would if you were sighted.
Here are a few suggestions which should make this task
easier.
Planning your classroom policies should begin long
before the first school bell rings. If you are returning to the
same teaching position that you held last year, this simply
means evaluating your present classroom policies, taking
careful note of what worked and what didn't work, and
making any necessary changes. For example, our school
started requiring that all the teachers use the Grade Quick
computer program for grades and report cards. I was
shocked to discover that my grading system which I have
been using for the past several years doesn't work well with
Grade Quick. So, I will have to design a whole new grading
policy before the first day of school so that I can
communicate it to my students.
If you are a new teacher or if you will be teaching at a
new school, you will need to give a lot of thought about how
you will run your classroom. Use one or two of the peaceful
days of summer to sit down and outline your classroom
rules, course requirements and the expectations that you will
have of your students. Start with a firm discipline policy.
This should include no more than four or five classroom
rules and the consequences which will occur when these
rules are broken. When designing these rules, make sure
that they are rules that you can enforce. Rules which cannot
be enforced will not be effective. For example, if you are a
totally blind teacher, forbidding students to send text
messages with their cell phones would probably not be an
enforceable rule because you wouldn't know when they are
doing it. Perhaps your principal and other teachers in the
school can help you to design effective classroom rules. In
fact, your rules will be easier to enforce if they are the same
rules that are in effect in other classrooms and throughout
the school. The best classroom rules are short, simply
stated and easy to remember. Also, be sure to post your
rules in a prominent place in your classroom. To
complement your rules, you must spell out consistent
consequences which your students can expect if these rules
are broken. Conversely, there should also be positive
consequences of following the rules. The best
consequences are often the direct results of a student's
actions. For example, if you award points for homework
assignments, a student will lose points if he or she doesn't
complete assignments. The natural result would be fewer
points and a lower grade. On the other hand, students who
do their assignments will earn more points and higher
grades. Remember: consequences must be fair, realistic
and delivered on a consistent basis.
In addition, you will need to design classroom
procedures for such things as fire drills and other
evacuations, early dismissals, asking permission to leave the
room, duties of your aide if you have one, seating
arrangements, making up missed work, testing, turning in
assignments and all the other mundane classroom tasks.
One thing you will need to decide is how students can get
your attention if you cannot see them raising their hands.
Simply allowing them to talk out could become quite chaotic.
I have solved this problem by appointing a student to be the
"caller" each day. It is his or her job to let me know which
students are raising their hands and calling on them among
other things.
Finally, outline your requirements for each course that
you will teach. For example, what will you require your
students to read, turn in and complete? How will you
evaluate your students' progress? Will there be tests,
projects, presentations and/or papers? Be prepared to
describe them for your students. What must students bring
to class? Will they need to purchase books or other
materials for your class? If so, list them. Will there be a
course syllabus? If so, write it. What will be your homework
policy? What will happen if they cheat on tests? What must
they do to earn a good grade? Will there be opportunities for
extra credit? If so, how can students earn it? These are the
types of things you will need to decide when planning the
courses you will teach and there are many more. They will
differ from class to class and teacher to teacher. The
important thing is to decide on these matters well in advance
and communicate them to your students on the first day of
school.
In conclusion, you will doubtless give your students
many homework assignments during the coming academic
year. Now, you have your own homework to do before
school even starts. As you can see, your first day of school
should involve much more than hellos, introductions and
opening books. It is crucial to empower your students for
success by letting them know what they can expect from you
and what you will expect from them. How you lay down the
law on that very first day will set the tone for the entire
school year.
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