Don't Smile Until December

Black Teacher by Luigino Valentin

There is an expression that suggests that teachers should “not smile until December.”  The idea is that if a teacher begins the first day of school being “too nice” students will mistake kindness for weakness, and classroom management will be difficult for the rest of the year.  Personally, I have seen  well intentioned teachers begin the school year rewarding students with candy, negotiating consequences for misbehavior, tolerating excuses for late assignments, and doing lots of “fun” things in order to be popular with their students.

Unfortunately, when negative behavior escalates or students begin to expect unearned rewards the once "cool" teacher is forced to adjust his approach.  He may start to raise his voice in frustration or implement rules and consequences transforming his classroom from playroom to detention center in a matter of weeks.  In response the students act as if they have been betrayed, and complain bitterly that “Mr. So-and-So has changed.” Consequently, I have always thought that being respected (and feared) was better than being liked.  

Now, this does not mean that I wanted my students to be afraid that I was going to threaten them or humiliate them.  But I wanted them to be afraid of disappointing me or in the very least afraid that I was going to contact their parent if they were acting a fool.  It was a badge of honor to hear tiny feet in expensive sneakers scatter when they heard me coming.  I found that being tough and consistent inevitably led my students to like me (most of the time), but it wasn't my goal.    

The day before the start of the school year at my new school my Department Head asked me what I was planning to do in the classroom the next day. My intention was to reimagine The First Day of School by doing away with icebreakers, games, and introductions.  I replied that I was going to get right to work!  I had planned a lesson on Feudal Europe, and perhaps because I was nervous about my students' reaction to having  a black teacher, I felt a need to get the 6th graders to take me seriously.   The Department Head sat back in his chair and gently suggested that I re-think my plan; that the goal of the first few days, he said, should be to get the kids to "like me."

I was ambivalent, but I decided to risk it and take his advice.  I didn't attempt to teach anything on the first day.  I played 'two truths and a lie', did body breaks, and had the students draw self portraits. And I smiled . . . in September.