The countdown is on. School’s about to begin. You’ve invested a lot of time into it already: thinking about the upcoming year, preparing your schedule, deciding how you want your classroom to look. Guess who else is thinking about school? Your students. Even if you haven’t met them yet, you’re their teacher. And they are already talking about you with their friends and wondering what you’ll be like. Are you going to be their hero or their villain? They are desperately wanting a hero.
It doesn’t take much to win a child’s love. Chances are that 90% of your students have pre-determined to love you. But it’s up to you whether it stays that way. They want to respect you. They want you to acknowledge when they’ve done right and correct them when they’ve done wrong. They want you to listen to them and help them. They want to copy you and quote you and do it because you did it. They want you to be their hero.
Even the obstinate, the sullen, and the silent child wants to love you. They’ll hide it inside and you’ll wonder how to get through. It’ll take twice or three times the patience to love them, but someday there will be a note or a comment and you’ll realize you are their hero.
Being their villain isn’t really that hard either. It’s just the opposite of the hero. If you ignore when they’ve done well or ignore when you know they’ve done wrong, they’ll start to lose respect. If you react on the playground, start the day grouchy, or snap when asked something; they will too. And in their minds you’ve become their villain.
You can prepare to be successful. You can make your classroom feel happy and your students will know it the minute they step through the door. Put their names on their desks and coat hooks – it makes them feel like they belong. Hang up bulletin boards and change them occasionally – it shows you care about the space you share. Add a plant or two or something else unnecessary – it shows that they matter to you. It will become a place where they want to learn and you just have to lead the way.
You can be the hero. You can be the inspiration. You can make the lives of your students better. Go do it.
