← Back to articles Dear teachers, it’s time to go back to school! Carolanne Tremblay , Thursday, August 31 2017

Some tips for your first day back...

There are numerous texts available at the beginning of the school year offering support to students or parents, but the teachers, who are also going through the same turmoil we call the return to school, are forgotten.

So here are, new teachers, some of my tips to help you in your first day of class, in this first school year.

And to you, experienced teachers, are some of my tips to facilitate your first day back in front of the class. Because we all know, every return to school is a bit like our first day.

Summer is already behind us. Many have already gone back to work. The students will soon be here, if they aren’t already! The stress of the first day is constantly there in my case, despite all my "experience" as a teacher. That first encounter with my students still gives me butterflies in my stomach. I’ll always remember my first day as a school teacher because every year it's the same as when I first left college, when I didn’t know what to expect. So, new teachers, don’t think your colleagues, who have been working for years, feel differently. The only difference is perhaps, that they may be a little more used to returning to school.

Phew! The night before the first day back in class ... I was hoping that it would ease with time. But it seems that I will have to live with the anxiety of the return to school for the rest of my career.

But how to handle that first day back in class, despite the stress and the anxieties?

I believe planning is the key. Preparing your class before the school year begins is ideal. Put your favorite posters up on the walls, add color, display quotes that you appreciate, organize the desks, etc. So you will feel a bit more at home by personalizing your class.

Prepare your introductory speech for the beginning of the school year. Oh yes! I said "back to school speech". I believe that it is important to welcome the students, to introduce yourselves so that they begin know you a little. But also to prepare the school year properly by explaining your educational and disciplinary expectations, in addition to what you have planned for the year.

On the first day of class, I like to conduct activities with students, such as having them draw-up their expectations of their teacher (me!), by having discussions about the rules they consider to be correct and introduce themselves to the class. I can then get to know their names, their families and what they like, and so on. This allows me to organize classroom projects appropriate to them, beginning in September!

It is also important to surround yourselves with more experienced colleagues, who are an inexhaustible source of knowledge. Their understanding of classroom management, pedagogy and of their students is considerable. Use this resource wisely! Never refuse their help or support. Never mind motivation, dynamism and youth, the communication of experience allows everyone to become better teachers.

And to those who are not returning to school for the first time, but who, like me, feel a little nervous before the arrival of the students, remember to breathe!

Also learn how to prepare for your return. Rehearse the things that make you feel confident.

On reflection, it is not so much stress that I suffer on my return to school. Now that I have been teaching for a few years, I realize it's excitement! The excitement of meeting the new faces who will be with me all year, that of seeing my colleagues, of finding my class, of sharing my knowledge and of course, of teaching. So both new and old teachers, hold on to this excitement until the very end of your careers, because it is this, apart from anything else, that makes us good teachers!

I wish you all a great return to school! Both those for whom this is the first time and those who are experienced. Because it's always a bit like our first time!