First Meeting

For some teachers, the first meeting is considered to be one of the most important important meetings in their classes. This is the time when the teacher tries to build relationship with her students and vice versa. The success the teacher achieves in this moment surely has contribution to her success in later meetings. Therefore, teachers should know what it takes to make an impressive first meeting.
There are several things that the teacher must do in order to make her first meeting with her students motivate students, be remembered, and sustain the students’ eagerness to always come to class.

First, punctuality.

A teacher must pay attention to her students’ and her own punctuality. To be in the class on time or even in time will create an image in the teacher that she is really concerned about time. By doing so, a teacher will gain respect easily from students as well as ability to ask students to be in the class on time too without having to emphasize to the students the importance of coming early to class.

Second, preparation.

Being the first person to be in the class also makes the teacher feel comfortable and ready. A teacher is able to come to the class on time in the first meeting is mostly because she feels that she is well-prepared. First meeting is like any other meeting of her class–it needs preparation. Be ready with all of your teaching props, attendance list, and teaching aids.
Third, personality.
Learning environment must be set up in order to make a conducive atmosphere for teaching and learning to take place. This condition can happen when the affective filter within the students’ body is low. Teachers can help do lower the affective filter by showing positive traits, like being friendly, enthusiastic,a dn helpful to students. The least thing that a teacher do to fulfil this task is by smiling.

Fourth, adequate class management.

In the first meeting, both students and the teacher have no idea about what will happen in the class, espesially is the class is a new one. Therefore, a teacher should equip herself with ways to manage her class well. Inability to manage the class in the first meeting will cause troubles in the later meetings. Class management referred here is like how to control rowdy students, introduce herself effectively, and remember students’ names or personal information. In this part also, a teacher should communicate with her students what they can expect from the class they are joining, or rules and regulation in the class, and the class procedure including the exams and scores.
It is likely that the first meeting will not turn to a flop when the teacher does all the above mentioned. However, through continous teaching practices, a teacher may find it easy to conduct the first class.