The students return today and that means it is time for another First Day of Class Edition of Joyful Tidings!
On the Web
The web has a vast array of first day advice for college teachers. The most comprehensive I have found is Carnegie Mellon’s site: First Day of Class. Vanderbilt’s teaching and learning center also offers a comprehensive but slightly more condensed take on the first day of class.
Marilyn Weimer offers some specific activity suggestions in a faculty focus article about the first day. If you like a grab bag approach from which you can pick out one or two ideas among a hundred or so, the University of Nebraska’s 101 Things You Can Do In the First Three Weeks of Class might be useful.
Last semester we had a wonderful discussion about the First Day that began with a First Day edition of Joyful Tidings but also extended into a mailbag discussion sharing of first day experiences and strategies. I hope you will check out these contributions and then share an idea or two of your own by either commenting on this post (scroll down to do that) or sending me an email: Ihavesomethingcooltoshare@prepostero.com
This semester our campus read is Sentipensante. We will regularly be sharing quotes from this text in Joyful Tidings. This seemed like a good one to capture the unlimited potential of the first day. I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts on this quote either in the comments below or in a follow up email: mysentipensantefeelingsthroughts@mccsentipensanteconversation
I love the eternal optimism of the college teaching and learning cycle; every semester we have another awe inspiring opportunity to begin again.
Here is to another first day!!
Prepostero
PDP Coordinator
I generally dismiss things as Trumpist nonsense whenever I read vague superlatives like: “unlimited potential” ,”great” , “awe inspiring”, “fantastic”– or the particularly unintelligent “cool!”. Empty buzzwords and vacuous concepts like “discussing discussion” belittle our educational mission/environment.
Really? As for me, I find colloquialisms refreshing and inviting, if it’s in a non-commercial context. I don’t think I’d buy “awe inspiring” shampoo though.