The importance of greeting students at the door

“School teachers are not fully appreciated by parents until it rains all day Saturday.” 
E.C. McKenzie

Our kids often feel lost in a very complex world.  They struggle to be noticed any way they can, often opting for negative attention rather than being ignored by the people in their lives.  If we can connect with them as they enter our classrooms, we give them a chance to be noticed, which is a great way to begin any class.

Before I taught my Strategies for Success course, I taught a subject that most kids didn’t like – math. I decided early on that even though many students didn’t like math, I’d have a better chance to reach them if I could get them to like the class since we tend to soak in more information when we’re in a positive mood. I basically enjoy working with teenagers, which is why I entered the profession in the first place, so it was a natural inclination to greet them at the door each day.

In the early days I was too inexperienced to know how important that small amount of recognition actually was but I did notice that the kids beamed when I smiled at them or made a comment that was for them alone.  I would say simple things like, “I like those earrings” or, to a kid wearing a sports shirt, “Did you see the baseball game last night?”  Sometimes it was just a simple, “Good morning!”  The questions and comments got easier as the year progressed and as I got to know my students better.  It seemed to work because they often told me that even though they weren’t too crazy about math, they liked my class.

This plan backfired occasionally.  The most memorable example of that was the student who was in my Algebra II class one year.  He hadn’t liked math previously but he really enjoyed the environment I created in my class.  He liked it so much that he signed up for Advanced Math the following year which was not the ideal subject for someone who didn’t like math, wasn’t planning a career where this level of math was necessary and didn’t need it to get into college.  He struggled that entire year but, to his credit, he never gave up.  He even sat during the final exam with a pad on his desk that said, “I love math” and “I will not give up!”

I’ve continued to use this strategy in my professional development seminars around the country and when playing the role of the teacher in a play I helped write with playwright David Payton of Kaleidoscope Theatre called “High School BULLY”.  I stand at the door of the auditorium and greet the participants.  It’s much easier to connect with those in my audience if I’ve already made the first contact at the door.  Now I’m not a stranger onstage but an adult who chose to meet them.  None of this takes much time but the rewards are definitely worth it for all involved.