Had a conversation with Alex White, a former teacher colleague from CHHS days. At one point we talked about the first class of a semester. How many teachers start the class power tripping with the ‘Riot Act’? All the do’s and don’ts, all the likes and dislikes of the teacher, all the things expected of the students and the stiff ramifications of failing to meet the standard. Alex was very much student centered and so his chat was brief and about them, with much coming from the students themselves. For me, I had a standard intro of myself, and we did a roll call introduction as the students said their name out to the class. Then, as they all sat waiting for the power storm from me, I’d simply say something like, “Look, this is high school, you know the game, you know what your job is, you know what my job is. So, don’t make me do what I have to do, okay? Let’s get the job done and let’s have some fun along the way. Cool?” There would be blinking, stares and quizzical looks. “Is that it?”one would say. My turn to look around quizzically? “What? Do you want me to go on for another hour and day after day for a week?” Shaking heads, no, no. “Okay then, let’s get started!” Then someone would raise a hand, “Yup?”, “Well, why don’t you want to go through all the rules and what will happen if they are broken?” I would invariably go sit on my big oak desk, swing my legs, the students all watching, they wanted to know. “If I read out all the rules, the ones you already know after all these years, and add my own personal pet rules to the pile, I have painted myself and you into a corner. I’ll have little room to make simple judgement calls and let things go if it’s really no big deal or deal with things if I have to. And you, well, everybody has a bad day, crap at home, boy friends, girl friends, peer groups, miss the buss, another teacher chewed on you, do I make your day automatically worse? Or can we maybe have a little chat, figure out what is wrong, fix it, leave it or just move on? Sometimes if something is really big, that may affect others, too, all of us can help you deal with it, you won’t be alone, your choice, but you have options. Rules kill options. Let’s just be decent people and get on with it.” 

I could feel all the students relax, everybody pretty much got on board. Don’t get me wrong, I sometimes had big disciplinary issues, more like interpersonal issues, but by and large 99% of the time ‘WE’ were in the game together. First class are fond memories for me. It was THE time to make a warm lasting impression between teacher and students. I chuckle as I remember after a few days a student doing something they shouldn’t and it was another student who yelled out, “Don’t make me do what I have to do!” Everybody laughed, issue done, dealt with in the kindest of ways and by themselves. I had a great time in the classroom.