The Doorway Between Two Different Worlds

How do we set the stage for success in the classroom?  Let me make a strong suggestion that you stand in the doorway at the beginning of the class period.

In the hall, students laugh and joke and flirt as they pass from class to class.  This is normal behavior for the hallway.  The classroom, in contrast, is a work environment.

Students would love to bring their social environment from the hall into the classroom.  They would love to spend the first part of the class period finishing their conversations.  And they will, unless you clearly structure a change in behavior.

Do everything you can to define the doorway into your classroom as a threshold between two different worlds.  Clearly separate the social world from the world of school-work.

You can only define a work environment through work.  Stand in the doorway, greet the students warmly, and above all else, give them a job.

excerpted from Fred Jones Tools for Teaching, Second Edition