I am already in preparation for my first day of leading an authentic middle school class because I have been building teacher paradigms into my very being all throughout my college career. I have spent a lifetime building science content and the last year developing pedagogical skills. I will spend the spring 2006 term under the mentorship of an excellent teacher and the summer thinking and planning and gathering materials for my first day as an authentic teacher.
A&M classes have taught me think of everything from books to bell-ringers, I have lists and I will insure that everything is provided before the first day. It will be easy for students to find my classroom because I will post a banner above my door designed to designate and motivate. The bell-ringer is the first assignment that my students will perform and it will be waiting for them when they walk into my classroom. I will greet them at the door, especially on that first day, with a warm smile and welcome. Their seating chart will be on the overhead and the assignment will be on the board.
After the bell rings, I will introduce myself one more time, answer questions and encourage and help them through that first assignment. While they are working, I will take care of the more mundane duties like role taking and be ready to engage with students as they finish.
When all students have finished and work has been handed in to their classwork basket, we will begin to get to know each other. We will play some games that make it fun to share. At some point in that day, I will help them begin to know me. There will be an �All About Me� bulletin board where they can see what I have posted and ponder who I am.
In order to insure that everyone knows what is expected of them, we will begin on the first day to learn classroom procedures. They will practice as I teach how to hand in papers and ask them to hand in the first one. We will reinforce that skill daily until everyone has it down. In the early part of the term, we will be practicing many procedures some will be new because of my classroom and some will already be well practiced from other classes. No procedure will ever be associated with a punishment. Logical onsequences are reserved for rule breakers.
I will want to get to know each of them as well as possible and as early as possible in order to recognize their successes and to know their educational needs. To begin, I will ask each one to complete a 3x5 index card to give me basic information about their own preferences, expectations, goals and contact information.
The last procedure that we will practice on that first day will be, �how to be dismissed.� They will learn that I, not the bell, dismisses the class.