Technique 41: Threshold

(Part of chapter 6, Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations)

This (perhaps radical) idea is that you stand at the threshold of the classroom and greet the students coming in to the classroom.  This is an opportunity to remind them of the excellence expected in your classroom.  Ideally, you shake each student's hand, look them in the eye, and greet them.  It offers a chance for one-on-one encouragement: "Nice job on your project", "Good job on the test", "Nice play in the game last night", "You look nice today", etc.

You should also use this time to correct less-than-acceptable behavior: "Let's try that handshake again", or "Please look me in the eye."  If a students tries to sneak past, you simply don't allow it -- you hold onto their hand, or block the doorway.

However it is done, the goals are two-fold: 1) establish a rapport with each and every student, and 2) set high expectations for your classroom.

The author offers this suggestion for the times when you cannot be at the door before students enter (which is often the case in college):

When a greeting at the door is impossible, invent another ritual to signify that something formal has begun: students rise, and you and they greet one another at the beginning of each class.  The is not so much the doorway as the power of ritual to help kids see that your classroom is different from the other places they go.

My response:

I love this!  I tried using this a bit during my January-term class -- meeting students at the door and welcoming them to the classroom.  However, I did it in an attempt to learn their names.  And, I didn't make each student shake my hand, greet me directly, etc.

For the Computer Science and Information Systems students I teach, I think this technique is crucial.  Many of these students are introverted and don't have great social abilities.  So, forcing each one to look me in the eye, shake my hand, and greet me formally is great practice for them.

For my larger classes where there are 2 doorways into the classroom, this technique is not going to work so well.  But, I think I will try to have students stand up and greet each me and each other.