[media-credit name=”Julia Moss” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]

A good first impression

by Julia Moss

Daniel Fabrizio (world language)

Do:

• Be respectful. “As a teacher, I come into the classroom with a lot of respect for my students. I expect students to return that respect,” Fabrizio said.
• Be honest. “At the beginning of the year I have an information card where students tell me about what kind of students they are,” Fabrizio said. “I don’t want you to exaggerate, and I don’t want you to put yourself down as a student either.”
• Raise your hand and ask good questions. “When you ask questions, I know what’s going on in your head,” Fabrizio said. “If you don’t ask them, I can’t tell whether you know exactly what’s going on or if you have no idea.”
• Come for extra help. “Coming for extra help shows that you know yourself as as student and that you know what you need,” Fabrizio said.

Don’t:

• Talk in English. “My class is Spanish class,” Fabrizio said. “We have to use the time to practice Spanish.”
• Use electronic devices. “I only have so many minutes a day with my students, and I want to have their undivided attention,” Fabrizio said.
• Come without materials. “It baffles me how students can come to school without even a pen or a pencil,” Fabrizio said.

Barbara Gibson (science)

Do:

• Your homework!
• Come prepared.
• Ask for help when you don’t understand something.
• Be helpful. “I love it when kids volunteer to help other students who may be struggling,” Gibson said.

Don’t:

• Disrespect other students. Gibson said, “If you want to get on my bad side, be mean or socially inappropriate in class.”
• “Become the focus of my attention too soon,” Gibson said.
• Text under the table.

Nick Grant (English)

Do:

• “Be alert,” Grant said. “A student should be eager and alert in class, ask questions, sit up straight and appear interested in learning.”
• “Exhibit your wit and intelligence,” Grant added. “Students should be ready to show me that they are bright, diligent and have a good sense of humor.”
• Your homework. Grant said, “Homework should be completed on time and in the proper format. Not completing early homework assignments is a sure sign that a student is not invested in his or her own learning.”
• Be interested. “Show curiosity and interest,” Grant said. “Sit up in the chair and get involved.”
• Be energetic. “Students who are complacent, bored and without energy or affect will probably not do well in my class,” Grant said.

Don’t:

• “Slouch or loll in your desk,” Grant said.
• “Watch and observe rather than participate,” he added.
• “Act as if you are being warehoused for an hour. Too many students enter the classroom as if they were lambs to slaughter, or new convicts entering the de-lousing chamber,” Grant said.

Derek Hogan (math)

Do:

• Say a genuine hello when you walk into class. “Very few students do that,” Hogan said. “It makes a big difference.”
• Make sure to have your homework neat and complete from the start.
• Have a good time in class, but know when to be serious. Hogan added, “The best class is when we’re able to have a lot of fun and be a little goofy, but then get right back to work.”

Don’t:

• Be late.
• Be wild. “If a class is really hyper and loud and can’t settle down, I will remember them, but not in a good way,” Hogan said.
• Fight with your classmates. “When the students are not respecting each other, that would be the worst case scenario,” Hogan said.

Ty Vignone (history and social sciences)

 
Do:

• Bring materials.
• Be organized. “This is incredibly important!” Vignone said.

Don’t:

• “Talk out loud before you’re recognized,” Vignone warned.