Why a Quiet Start is Necessary

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I'm sorry to say it took me so long to realize it was possible.

It was halfway through my college internship year. I was tasked with watching our class of second graders that morning while my mentor teacher was in a meeting. The morning started pretty typically. The group of eight- and nine-year-olds were meandering, chatting, sharpening pencils, reading books, sharpening pencils again until they were unrecognizable pointy nubs, playing by the water fountain. This was our normal scene. I assumed this behavior was age-appropriate and therefore fine to settle with. 

Then the teacher next door walked in to ask me something. It was her last year teaching, and this veteran could not hide her horror. “Why are they walking around? Is it always like this?"

This was one of the pivotal moments in life when I realized it didn't have to be this way. Really. 

So when I started teaching full-time in my own classroom, I sought to implement what the veteran teacher had expected all along in her classroom: a calm, quiet start. A remarkably rehearsed rendition of routine. A placid place of the day's preparation. 

Why is a quiet start necessary? (And this applies to the start of each class if you're teaching departmentalized)

    1. You can take this time to give your attention to administrative tasks. Whether we agree that these should or shouldn't be piled on a teacher's plate, they're an important part of the job. Attendance. Grades. Field trip forms and money. If you're distracted, trying to instruct or reteach or intervene with students-- that hastily written email reply or field trip money you quickly stashed and lost-- they become costly effects of an educator torn in too many directions. It's worth it for you and your students to carve out the time for these administrative tasks. 

    2. It gives you the space to handle the unexpected like a pro. Not only do you have a block of time cleared that you can utilize for administrative tasks (see above) or meeting with students, gathering data, etc. it gives breathing room for the inevitable delays, shortages and emergencies that tend to crop up in an average schoolday. Internet is down for the day? No problem, because you have ten minutes to adjust the day's plans. You realized you need to quickly go into the gradebook and edit something before grades are due that afternoon? Your students are quietly working, and you have the time to calmly take care of it. 

    3. It sets the tone for the day. A quiet and well-practiced start tells your students that you value each minute of your time together, and you've planned for the day. You send the message that the day will be full of learning and working together and productivity, starting from the beginning. 

I'll go into my personal hows of achieving a quiet, calm, productive start to class in the next blog post. Until then, just imagine your classroom starting this way. (And actually getting to finish your morning coffee!) 



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