First Impression
If first impressions are so important, what do you do if you totally goof the first day? Is there any recovery?
HI Jennifer,
Great question. We all have tanked in starting a new course. Stepping on one's tongue is not uncommon. This is where you have to have a sense of humor. Laugh at yourself, let the students know you care about them and their success, regroup and get ready for the next class. You will be surprised at how accepting your students will be. If you try and bluff through your situation, then you will have some problems.
As the class progresses you can even refer back to that first day of class and use it as a reference point on how no matter the situation you can recover, meaning both the teacher (you) and the students. By using this example you can show the students that even if they have a bad test result they can regroup and continue on with success in the class.
Gary
We know it's cliche'ish but it is true.
First impression are lasting, however you can definitely recover from them eventually.
None of us are infalliable, so we are all going to at one point in our teaching experiences do something or say something we wish we could take back or change.
Your best option is not to focus on a mistake, but to move forward really quickly on the objectives of your course.
Students believe it or not will quickly forget as long as the remaining time they have with you is positive and reflective of a learning and motivating environment.
They will inevitably forget that first impression and remember the wonderful instructor you have become to them!
REMEMBER THIS POINT! Always focus on your ojective as an instructor and what's ahead of them as students.
If you keeping looking back you will never know what's in front of you!
A POSITIVE ATTITUDE AND ENVIRONMENT WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL OVER PAST FALLACIES!!
I will never forget my first day of class... in the middle of my opening dialogue I was telling the class about myself and my industry experience... for some reason, I froze, totally lost my train of thought, felt like I didn't even know what I was talking about.
I then moved on with a joke conveying this is what working in the industry is going to do to you. They laughed, I was embarrassed, we moved on, then I got back on track being focused.
Hi David,
Thanks for sharing your first day of class story. It is always good to hear about the experiences of other instructors. This way we know we are not alone in making mistakes, forgetting our content or otherwise embarrassing ourselves. Good to hear you recovered nicely and are now settled into your teaching career.
Gary
