The First Days of School: Part 5

At the conclusion of the orientation, as described in the last four articles, there is only one last task that the students must complete. I believe that having students discuss their feelings about education and their future is important to get them to start truly thinking about what they need to accomplish. However, I think it is even more important for them to internalize these feelings and have them state their intentions in their own words. For this reason, I have the students produce a presentation about themselves, their beliefs, their mission, their interests/hobbies and their future goals.

The presentation is the first formal evaluation the students receive in the class. They are graded on their slides, content and presentation skills. There are several slides that the students must include, such as an introduction, their mission statement, their beliefs, their career goals, interests/hobbies, and a summary of their reflection journals from the first day of school (as described in The First Days of School: Part 2). The students are given a minimum of 5 minutes and a maximum of 15 minutes to present. It is truly rewarding to watch the students present themselves to one another.

One could only hope that all kids in high school can stand in front of their peers and discuss the many things that they are sometimes ridiculed for, such as their passions, their education, and their future goals. For a student in my class, it is just the first of many opportunities to sort out what drives them, how they feel about their choices, and what they can do to reach their goals.

It is my opinion, that every student should start every school year completing this form of orientation. Most importantly, I hope that every teacher could personalize their classroom instruction, by truly getting to know the students in their class. I understand that I am fortunate to teach my students for 2 hours and 45 minutes per day, 182 days a year, for 3 years. In most settings, teachers are only with their students for 45 minute periods over 1 semester, and often have 4 to 5 classes a day. In this scenario, I can only image the difficulty in managing this when you also have a set curriculum and standards to follow.

However, I have seen firsthand the amount of success students can achieve when they see relevancy in what they are doing, and believe that their best interests are at the forefront of their education. Not to mention the personal connection they can have with the person who greets them every day. Think about how discouraged students feel when they think that they are only learning things because they have to, so that they can pass the standardized test and make their teacher and school look good.

This is not to say that it is not something we are all worried about. I am personally held accountable for my students’ academic achievement for our standardized test, the PSSAs, as well as their technical achievement on their NOCTI exams. But I don’t make that the focus for the students, although I know that is where I need to get them. Maybe that is the trick that makes all of this work.