Watch Memphis teacher greet each student with individual handshake to begin the day

Laura Testino | Memphis Commercial Appeal

Show Caption Hide Caption Memphis teacher greets students each day with own handshake Fifth-grade teacher David Jamison greets each of his 75 students with their own handshake each day.

Fifth-grade teacher David Jamison memorized 75 different handshakes, one for each of his students.

He asked each student to create their own at the start of the school year, and now does each one as a greeting as students file into class each day.

“Anything we can do to motivate kids, make kids want to come to school to learn, I’m with it," Jamison said.

Jamison teaches three sections of students at Hickory Ridge Elementary School, and has the handshake greeting down to a 70-second science.

He shared a video of the daily ritual to social media. After making its way to a LinkedIn post last month, it was viewed almost 30,000 times. Shelby County Schools shared the video Monday ahead of Jamison’s appearance on Access Hollywood that night.

Jamison tries to keep the handshakes "on count," like a dance, he said, to make remembering them all easier. He's appreciative of his good memory, too.

Many of you have already see the inspiring ritual Mr. David Jamison (@thedopeeducator) of Hickory Ridge Elementary performs each day with his students - and now the world will! Tune into @accessonline now to see his story!⁣ #SCSis901 👏🏽🔥❤️ pic.twitter.com/0vX0zkaAAU — Shelby Co. Schools (@SCSK12Unified) December 10, 2019

Jamison started teaching three years ago, and said the idea for the handshakes was born from having a handshake with his friends growing up. Videos of special class greetings like Jamison’s have gained traction in recent years, a good trend, Jamison said.

Other teachers have cited individualized greetings as a way to get to know their students better. Research in the last two years supports the idea that greeting students increases engagement while reducing disruptive behavior, as Jamison has noticed in his own classroom.

“(Children) deal with so much at home,” Jamison said, reiterating that he wanted to do what he can to motivate them to come to class.

When students are motivated, they “don’t want to let you down,” Jamison said, noting that he rarely has students with behavior problems. The handshake, he said, is a sign of love and appreciation.

At the start of the school year, Jamison promised a prize to the student who choreographed the best handshake. He said that announcement will come closer to the holiday break.

Laura Testino covers education and children's issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at laura.testino@commercialappeal.com or 901-512-3763. Find her on Twitter: @LDTestino