Dr. Wong Article #2

Procedures Teach Responsibility

     The second part of Dr. Wong's The Effective Teacher Series "The First Days of School" revolved around the teacher's important role in classroom management. He started it with the statement that first days of school are the most important days of every classroom because whatever transpires in that very first day of school will greatly affect the success of the students' learning. During his talk, he emphasized that effective teachers assign seats on the first day of school. When I first heard of it, I didn't take it as something note-worthy, and mostly because as I recalled my experiences as a student attending her first day of school, I don't really remember my teachers assigning seats on the first day, as we usually wait 'til we get settled for a day or two. Then as Dr. Wong repeats that statement a couple times while giving scenarios that may affect classroom management even just because of that minute detail, I realized it isn't just about having an orderly classroom. It's also teaching our students the sense of responsibility even with the smallest things.

     I agree that students can see if a teacher wants to be in the classroom or not, and most of all, they can see when a teacher is unprepared. So on the first day of class, this is what I'm going to remind myself: show my students that I came to class with an action plan, show them that I do want to be in that room, and show them that in that class, taking responsibility is part of their everyday task. If in the first day of school, we allow the students to practice responsibility, then hopefully we do not have to resort to raising our voices just to make them listen in the next days of school.