THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS By Todd Eller, PhD

So, it is the first day of class. The most primary message you need to relate to your students is that you care about them. If you don’t, then again, you should not be a professor. Remember, that this is an opportunity for you to change some lives. Think of a professor, teacher, or mentor you had in your life that truly changed your life. We recommend that you have students take out a piece of paper and write down the following:

• Why are they in this class? Give them permission to simply write down things like it is required, it fits in my schedule or I do not know.

• What do they want to do with their education? improve an existing career, find a new one, etc.

• What has been their average GPA up until this point?

Let’s say you are teaching American History. You have a student who wants to program video games and has no interest in American History and admits this to you on the first day. How can you help this student? What does American History have to do video games? You could tell this student you are going to teach some very concrete critical thinking skills that will enhance anyone’s chances of success including a video programmer. You can state that you will teach:

• How to create new ideas

• Practice on giving presentations

• Group work that enhances the ability to work with a team

• Learning about exciting and amazing historical stories that could be used for educational video games

• The history of successful people in America and how they became successful

Video programming is actually a very competitive industry. This student will be able to say in an interview: I understand a little bit about why certain American industries became successful. 

Your first challenge is to have a statement like that for each and every student. Demonstrate to all of them how your class can enhance their chances of success in life and in academia. I had one student who hated psychology and stated he wanted to be mathematician and could not care less about the psychological sciences. I explained to him that I will teach him more effective ways to study, memorize, and take notes which he can use for the rest of his life. You would be very smart to share some of these techniques in your class. And yes, I will give some of these secrets in this book. 

WHAT KIND OF STUDENTS DO YOU HAVE?

An extremely effective tool on the first day is to ask your students what kind of students exist and start writing them on the board. They will be somewhat reluctant at first most likely, and you can guide them. It is important to note that I am a huge advocate of getting students to laugh once in a while. Not just to get the students to like me as a professor but also due to the fact that there is some real science behind this. The Mayo Clinic has determined that laughter does the following based on studies on Gelotology: 

• Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs, and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.

• Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.

• Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Every time I have done this exercise of classifying students, I get big laughs from the ones I teach. This allows the students to somewhat enjoy the first day and see me as down to Earth.

So, have the list in your mind of student types and write down these terms regardless of what the students say. For instance, if a student says: Does not work hard! I write down: Lazy Larrys. If a student says: Shows up late! I write down: Late Leonardos. The students laugh and tease each other and this hopefully gets them thinking about what kind of student they are. The following is the list I have used for several years.

• Lazy Larrys

• Late Leonards

• Monopolizing Matts

• Complaining Carls

• Absent Adams

• Superstars 

• Needy Norms

• Pretty Pollys

• Average Andys

• Cell Phone Susans

If you are wondering what a Pretty Polly is, it is a student who tries to flirt or be so nice so that s/he can be excused from turning work in on time or being absent or late. You are certainly welcome to use other names as long as you make your point. Then after you have completed 10 or so categories of students, you can ask your students to call out what kind of student they are if they are willing. They are welcome to include more than one category. They are also welcome to say that they are none of the categories discussed, but they are required to describe what kind of student they believe they happen to be. This allows students to start thinking about what kind of student they have been and if they want to improve. You will be surprised by how honest your students will be with you. This also gives you a good indication of what type of students you will be teaching. 

SHOW ME THE $$$

The following is a surprisingly effective technique to get your students in class to break down for them how much their time is worth.  I always asked my students how much their time is worth.  One time a woman said: I am a stay at home mom, so my time isn’t worth anything.  I replied: You have three children.  Do you realize how much money it would take for somebody to care for your 3 children 24 hours a day?  That would be anywhere from $200 to $500 per day given the skills you have as a parent.

Statements like this start your students to think about how much their time is worth. You do not need to force students to share how much their time is worth per hour. Simply ask them to have that figure in their mind. It also doesn’t necessarily mean how much salary they have currently.  Much like the stay at home mom, our time is worth different amounts for different reasons. Have the students think about how much their tuition costs as well as time away from their families. In short, time is money. There is a reason that they are in your class.  In other words, when they do not attend your class, they are losing money. They paid their tuition or someone has paid for them like a scholarship. For them to not get their money’s worth, is simply wasting their revenue. Not going to class is like buying a computer and never turning it on.

Since you’re going to be teaching them on how to study better, take notes better notes, critical thinking skills as well as other success principles, you’re going to teach them how to save time. I personally promise every single student that they will save at least 25% of their time if they attend my class by implementing the time management strategies presented to them.