First day report

What went right

- I clearly mentioned the rules before I started teaching, even in a class which seems to be nice an cooperative
- I told students what I expect them to bring to class
- I handed out student information cards to fill in, in order to get to know my students (they found it a bit dorky, but secretly also enjoyed filling out these questions)
- I refused to close the windows when some boys asked me to, showing that it's MY room and I am in control (plus I needed the fresh air)
- I had some nice chats in the hallway with last year's students, who grew up so much over the summer
- I put all the paperwork I received in binders
- I also took a separate binder to collect all handouts I distributed in class

What went wrong

- I have to teach several hours in a minuscule classroom that has space for only 10 students. I tried to switch to a different room, but it's not settled yet for Thursday's class. Have to make sure this will be done
- I seemed a bit disorganized in the beginning of class, so I lost track of my lessonplan (although I did recover after 15 minutes or so)
- I had trouble breathing because of the poor air quality in our school, especially after the long summer in which all windows were closed. (Poor air quality in schools is something I will write more about in an upcoming post). Because of that my voice was also really weak. Not very helpful if you plan to be a stern, self-confident teacher.

Things to improve tomorrow:

- Smile less, especially in the beginning (this is going to be hard)
- Memorize lessonplan better

For my freshmen year, I copied all the rules on a piece of paper. I will make them paste it in their notebooks. I figured that with my freshmen I really will have to get back to the basics and pay attention to things that seem obvious to me, but might not be as clear to them.