First impressions are important, we teachers tell our students constantly. They’re important, that’s certain, but in a classroom setting, where first impressions melt into 180 days of reality, they often don’t last. Naturally, they always change by year’s end, but it’s not a simple arc of development. They frequently shift, sometimes gracefully, occasionally violently; they often morph, like shadows or clouds; they sometimes circle on themselves.

I try to start them off positively, projecting a hastily-made but sincerely meant message on the overhead, wondering how they’ll interpret it.

First day message to students

How does one make a positive first impression in an eighth-grade classroom? They do their best: they don’t talk much at all; they sit in their seats, still; they hush up when I poke my head into the room from hall duty.

I do my best to make my first impression count: I am a hard-as-nails, traditional teacher. My voice is stern; my posture, perfect; my hands, clasped behind my back. I give them a drill sergeant routine. And then I soften, explaining, “I can be that kind of teacher as necessary.” It’s the same every year, but I don’t know that this year I am as successful in creating that tough, gruff exterior.

We make our first impressions, and we move on. Their opinion of me changes; mine of them alters. The talkers appear; those with bullying tendencies make those known; the unmotivated begin altering their body language.

And then comes a new student. He enters the room, a classroom already with its own atmosphere and dynamic just a handful of days into the school year. He has a decision to make, an impression to make. We all do.

“The fork in the road” by i_yudai

He stands at a cliche crossroads. He can never turn back. He can never recreate that first impression.

Sometimes, his choices are shockingly disappointing.