TEACHERS: What is your best ';tip / advice'; for starting the school year off right?

I'm in my 10th year of teaching middle school math, but I always welcome advice (from both ';older or ';newer'; teachers!) about their ';beginning of the year'; procedures.TEACHERS: What is your best ';tip / advice'; for starting the school year off right?
Establish the environment.





1) Physically: The arrangement of seats, paraphernalia on the walls, lines of focus, organizational style--all of these speak volumes in the first few seconds. Students probably get an idea of how much they'll invest in a class long before you open your mouth.





2) Mentally: Make it engaging. Set up the expectation early that the class will be interesting and worth their investment with excellent activities.





Besides these things, what the previous answerer said over the first few weeks will become evident enough with your students in that time, provided it's sincere.TEACHERS: What is your best ';tip / advice'; for starting the school year off right?
To add to all the other good suggestions - give them ';ownership'; by asking them as a class to develop a set of classroom rules. Inevitably they come up with pretty much the same ones you would set yourself; some are even stricter! The more they feel like players rather than benchwarmers, the more engaged they will be in the class.
You're experienced and so you probably have your curriculum and teaching plans all set. You know about classroom management.





The key is to communicate to your students your love for the subject and your respect for them.





I think it was Larry Lazotte who once told a group of school administrators that we should treat each child as if he/she were our grandchild. Have you met many grandparents who weren't fascinated with their grandchildren and didn't believe that they were perfect? If we give each of our students the advantage of that perspective, we are setting them and ourselves up for success.





Have a great year!
I teach in a college, but here's what I do:





1. Call roll out loud so people begin to learn names.


2. Give an overview of the class and it's goals.


3. Cynically smile and say ';I'll change your life';.


4. I slowly pace in front of the class so I don't focus on just one person.


5. I suggest this might go over time then let them go early.


5a. I'll say something obviously false and let them 'catch' me.


6. I sit afterwards and let them come to me for questions -- I do this after every class.





AND, let them see that YOU are glad to be there!
I like to clearly lay out what my expectations are. I model instructions so that students are clear as to the level of expectations I have. I clarify that I want them to succeed but that their previous efforts will not be accepted (transition from Middle to high school)
Establish your authority, rules and routines straight away.





And plan. Plan, plan, plan, plan, plan. Don't forget to plan.





I also like to do a few ';get to know the students'; exercises to start the year off. Then again, I teach primary school, so I don't have the restrictions of teaching a single subject's content.