Back to School Checklist for Teachers - Nia M Wardani | A Logbook of Life Discoveries

 

It’s summertime, but before you know it, suddenly the first day of school is coming in a few days!
If you are an anxious teacher like I used to be, you might want to prepare your first day of school long before it starts.

In this post, I am going to share a little checklist of what can prepare before the first day of school so that you are going to be super ready and less anxious.

Importance of First Impression

I always emphasize how important first impression is. If you ruin your first impression, you will have hardly time to convince people that you are not what the people thought about you the first time they met you.

If you don’t know what to do to make your first day special, you might want to visualize how people would like to perceive who you are.

Visualize, Plan, and Prepare

I am teaching physics, which many people think is a hard subject. But I need to understand my students first. If I am teaching first-year middle school students, most of them might not know the hard part of physics. But if I am teaching the senior year students, they might already have prejudice about physics even before I started the lesson.

Depending on the character of the students, I would visualize how to impress them on the first day. I would like to introduce physics as a fun subject. There will be so many fun activities that we will do this year, so I will include fun activities on the first day. I am a helpful teacher whom they can always talk to when they face problems doing the activities, but I will not tolerate disrespect to me or their classmates.

Then, according to how I visualize it, I would get everything ready, including the tools and materials for the activities, the outfits I would like to wear on that day, the course outline and classroom rules, and some presents for the best participant in the activities. Sometimes, I even write a script so I know what to say at the first meeting.

A Rehearsal Won’t Hurt

If you are teaching a greater audience, like a studium generale, you might want to rehearse with one or two of your colleagues at the venue. If have seen a video of Profesor Walter Lewin doing rehearsals before giving his lectures.

Rehearsal is especially important if you are using new tools during the lesson. You might want to check on how to project your laptop to the screen. You might want to check whether an online tool is working well with the internet access in the classroom. You might want to try the demonstration and see whether it will make a mess in the classroom or not. You might want to check whether students are able to move freely or not during the game session.

After rehearsal, you will be able to see in which aspect you need to make adjustments to your plan.

You may think this is an exaggeration, but for an anxious teacher like me, preparing everything well can reduce anxiety.

Getting Students Ready Mentally and Physically

As anxious as you are, your students might even feel more anxious about going back to school. Let them know in advance that you will be happily expecting them tomorrow at school because you are going to do this and this together. This way, you let students prepare for what is coming tomorrow.

Remind students of what to bring to class, such as what stationeries they would need, which textbook they shall bring, and any calculators or electronic devices that they need. You cannot always assume students already know what to bring, especially if you need particular items like the protractor.

I experienced it myself. It was the new semester but the course still us the same textbook as the previous semester’s. Somehow I forget to tell the homeroom teachers. Very few students brought back their textbooks. Most students assumed they would be given a new book every semester, so they brought nothing. So they need around a week to wait for the book to be delivered from their homes.

Getting Yourself Ready for Teaching

The first day of school will last in no time, and school days are rolling fast. Prepare your whole teaching set before you even touch the first day. I usually prepare them about a week before the semester starts/ Some teachers even already prepared them before their summer holidays, so that they can enjoy their time during the holiday for themselves.

What I prepared included LMS, an annual plan assessment plan, a grade book, an attendance list, and a journal. Prepare the worksheets and links that you are going to use in the LMS as a draft. So you would just need to publish it later on. School would usually give you an attendance list, but maybe they might not be ready on day one, so it’s better to make one for backup you can always use personally.

Prepare Yourself Mentally for the First Weeks

After a long break, starting again to teach for long hours will be exhausting for you. I feel it. You will get tired sooner than you used to in the middle of the semester. There will also be a sudden change of routine, once you start coming to school.

Here some tips that you may adopt to prepare yourself mentally for the first weeks of school.

1. Getting Ready to Treat Yourself After Teaching

When I get tired at the end of the day, I like to treat myself to some food or drinks. Fresh fruits and warm tea are great for improving my moral state. Or you can choose some snacks and cold juice if you enjoy them. Toss with a friend celebrating that you have done well for the day.

And I suggest you buy them in advance. What is worse than when you are exhausted and wanting some treat, your energy is low, but you need to go out to the grocery stores to buy them, waiting in line at the cashier the moment you don’t have the mood to do so.

Some of my friends love to watch movies after they are working hard. This can also be an option for you.

Or promise yourself a good sleep without interruption.

Choose the treat that you favor.

2. Finish Housework Before the School Day Starts

Remind yourself to finish all the housework before school days start. Do the groceries, and finish all the deep cleanings at least a couple of days before the first day of school. You don’t want to go home exhausted having to do them, especially on the first days.

If you go on a vacation during the summer break, don’t come back one day before school starts. Give yourself time to rest at home and clean the mess that usually comes along after a long vacation.
Inform Family Members about Incoming Change of Routine

Inform your family members about the changes in routines that will happen after school starts. Especially if you have small children, this is important. Even more important when they also start their school.

Inform them well of what you expect of them in the mornings. You don’t want to turn into a ‘dragon’ on the morning of the first day of school.

That’s all I can suggest to you for preparing for the first day of school. I hope you have a good teaching year. Enjoy your day with your students and give a good pat on your shoulder at the end of the day saying, “Well done!”

Back to School Checklist for Teachers

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