Day 1 - The Most Important Day...

The days are getting shorter and the street lights coming on sooner. That can only mean one thing - the start of school is right around the corner. Whether you are a teacher, administrator, parent, or student, the anticipation of the school year brings about many emotions. Amidst all of the anxiety and excitement, students wonder with curiosity about the type of teacher they will have and what fun things they will accomplish by the end of the year.

As a parent of three elementary age students, I love listening to their stories of the first day of school. Who they sat by. Whom they ate lunch with. What they got to do. Without question, their favorite part is always sharing the cool, unexpected fun they had on the first day. The glow in their eyes and big smile are infectious as they retell every detail of the activity and why they can't wait to do it again. Learning on Day 1 was...dare I say FUN!

As I reflect and prepare with teachers for the first day, I am reminded of three valuable lessons that helped me kick off each new year: Kindness starts with a clean slate, Growth Mindset through strengths and passions, and Wow them on Day 1.

Kindness Starts with a Clean Slate

Every student that walked through my door on the first day of school entered with a clean slate. While I understand the importance of having data days, and viewing student profiles, I rarely wanted to know any historical information on student behavior and home support. There are way too many factors that play into those elements and I wanted every student to believe he or she could make this year the best school year ever. If I wanted my class and students to model kindness toward one another, then it had better start with me toward each and every student. Whether it was a hand shake or high-five at the door, allowing students to pick their seat, or having music playing, I wanted students to know they were welcome in my class. Combined with gathering students' self identified profiles and wowing them on day 1, students needed to know they were going to be valued and an integral part of the look and feel their classroom was going to take.

Growth Mindset through Strengths and Passions

In addition to starting with a clean slate, I always wanted to know what my students perceived as their strengths and self-identify who their friends are and support structures each has in place. As students grow from year-to-year, so do their strengths, passions, and support structures. I had been using a document to gather that information, however, I recently stumbled across this document from Kevin Honeycutt. Kevin talks about filling this out with each student to demonstrate collaboration between teacher and student, as well as building rapport with students on a different level. I always liked giving each student time to share who they are with me. It helped me to demonstrate that FAIL really meant First Attempt In Learning and that we were all going to experience a moment of failure throughout the year. The important part was learning from those moments and 'failing forward' as I described it.

Wow Them on Day 1

You may be wondering at this point, how did I fit all of this in at the beginning of the school year? Truth be told, I was more concerned with getting to know students, helping them feel welcomed and comfortable in their new class than I was with getting into content. I figured the more time I spent building rapport on the front end, the less time I needed to spend reminding students of the expectations and rules - and it always paid off. However, probably the most important thing I could do to set the tone for the school year was in attempting to make the first day the best day of the year. Aside from taking attendance, I wanted students to experience a high energy, face paced classroom that infused technology as part of the learning process. Whether it was an iPad station with math apps, a math table that students could write on, a coding station to build critical thinking and problem solving, or a mini Rube Goldberg station, I wanted students to see that learning in my class was going to be different than any learning they had ever experienced before.

Think carefully about the message you are sending students on day one this year. What do you want them to go home and tell their family and friends about? How do you want them to come back on day 2, day 50, and the rest of the year? You have the ability to paint a future for each student that may have never been painted before. Show them your kindness and passion - giving each one a chance to succeed.

Get The New School Year Started Right with Full Transparency

When talking about Flipped Learning, I'm often asked how I get students and parents to buy in to this 'new' approach to teaching math. My answer quite often shocks people - I am completely transparent and honest with them! I start the beginning of every school year not introducing Flipped Learning, but rather introducing learning as a growth process through which we are using math as the vehicle. We are simply using math to learn character, problem solving skills, critical thinking, grit, and collaboration - all skills necessary in any potential career choice for students. 

Perhaps the greatest moment comes when I share the following analogy with students and parents alike. Imagine I asked you to sit down at a piano and begin playing Mozart...you most likely could not do it right away. It would take time, maybe lots of time to learn many new skills related to the piano. Math is much the same. I am going to ask you to learn new skills that you may not have mastered in the past, or may even never been introduced to. Just like anything you've become good at, I'm asking that you give math a fair shake. I will most likely be teaching math in a way you've never been taught before - Flipped Learning!

After describing what Flipped Learning is, I reassure them that they are going to fail at some point in my class. They will fail at watching a video, completing a practice set, understanding a new concept, or any number of things I ask of them. Failure is inevitable...however, it's how you respond to that moment of failure that will define how good you become at math. Are you honest with yourself,  your group members, and your teacher? Are you willing to change habits that you developed? Will you make excuses or develop grit to persevere through the tough, challenging concepts? 

My goal is to really show them that learning is all in their control. That each one of them possesses a unique skill set that can be used in my class. It's through this transfer of learning and ownership that I establish a sense of growth through math...dare I say a growth mindset. I cannot tell you the number of parents that thank me after each initial open house, or first few weeks of school how appreciate they are of the approach to teaching and learning I have taken. Their sons/daughters don't dread math - they rather look forward to it! And why - all because I commit to complete transparency from day 1.