I’ve previously posted about (and written more extensively in my book) research highlighting the Importance of Good Endings and offered suggestions on how to make that happen.
Now comes another study focusing on the importance of…good beginnings.
Researchers examined call center employees, but the lessons, I think, could easily apply to students (or just about anyone). It basically found that if you started the day in a positive mood, then you were likely to continue that way. And it found the opposite to be the case, tool. Here’s what one of the study’s authors said:
The results showed that when employees started the day in a good mood, they tended to rate customers more positively through the day. They also tended to feel more positively themselves as the day progressed.
“Starting off at work wearing rose-colored glasses — or gray glasses — shapes the way we perceive events the rest of the day,” Wilk said.
Sharing this info might be particularly important in middle and high schools. Wouldn’t it be nice if all first period period teachers kept this (and the Golden Rule — “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”) in mind and did everything they could to help students start off the day positive? It might not only have a huge impact on our students, but also make the day so much easier for colleagues.
Of course, it would be even nicer if we teachers were able to continue to have the same attitude all day…
The attitude a teacher has at the beginning of the day is very important to the classroom environment. If you are opening class with a poor attitude the students can sense that almost instantly. Children are much more receptive than most adults give them credit for. They can very easily pick up on the attitude and mood of their teacher. Having a positive outlook and attitude will translate to hopefully, more positive students.