By Shannon at the Southern Schoolhouse
I have realized over the years that students thrive when they are in an environment with established routines, clear expectations and a positive classroom culture. This is true across all settings in the school (classroom teacher, support staff, special area teachers and even administration). This may seem simple, but classroom management is one of the areas in which my mentees often ask for additional help.
One of the most important times of the day is when the students first walk into your door. Greeting your students is so important because you don’t know how their morning started and your smile could change their entire day. I know this can be a challenge because there is always a last minute copy to make or a parent email to reply to. If you could make it a habit to greet your students, everyone’s day will go so much better.
Since I am no longer in the regular classroom, for the past two years I have had morning duty. In the beginning, I wasn’t excited about it because there were so many other things I could be doing. My duty spot is located in the center of the school. I see the students as they walk in from their car or bus. Each day, I see the same students walk in and each day they may present a different face. Some are smiling, some are talking with friends, some are walking alone, some are crying and some you are just not sure how they made it to school. I have realized that my greeting to them when they enter the door makes a difference. There are some who need hugs (frowns turn to smiles), others who just need a voice to acknowledge them, some little ones need a person to walk them to class (by the time we get there, they are talking and face lifted) and others just want to see that safe adult smiling at them. My hope is by the time they get to class, my smile will reiterate to them that they are loved and valued. This time also allows me to greet my own students and gauge their mood for the day.
Each morning after duty, I go in and out of classrooms to check in on certain students and as expected, every class is different. It is evident which classes have established morning routines that have been modeled and practiced. The students in these rooms walk in and are greeted at the door, they are unpacking their items in their assigned space, putting their take home folder in the bin and going to their desk to complete an independent quiet activity until it is time for the morning meeting. The room is quiet and often calm music is playing in the background. A few students may need to review the visual schedule that hangs in the morning meeting area, reminding them of the morning expectations as they enter the classroom.
All students value routine, especially students with special needs. If you are just starting your teaching career, don’t expect this to be perfected overnight. Start with the first part of the day, the morning greeting, and once that is where you want it to be, move on to the next. We always value your ideas on how you manage morning arrival time. Please share your ideas with us.
