We have all heard the importance of first impressions, however, the experience I had this week was a memorable one. One day this week I was working in my office when the doorbell rang. Of course, this happened to be a time when no kids were in the house so I slowly left my office to see who was there. To my surprise there was a women in an orange Springbrook shirt wearing a bike helmet. It turned out to be my son Danny’s 5th grade teacher.
Mrs. Provost has been a teacher at Springbrook elementary school for many years and every years she rides a bicycle around to all of the students homes to welcome them into her class. This was such a cool experience and great example to set for the kids. As a parent I was able to meet the teacher and share a few pieces of information about my son. Danny plays AAA travel hockey and will miss school for touraments at least a couple times a month. The teacher was very understanding and said all we needed to do was let her know and we would work around the schedule.
My son wasn’t home, but was at a friends down the street, so Mrs. Provost walked with me to the friends out and awaited Danny to come outside. She introduced herself and welcomed him to the class. Danny just smirked and didn’t say much. He was so shocked to see his teacher visiting him. I can only imagine being a kid and seeing your teacher come to your house. Danny was used to teachers coming to see him play hockey, which always meant alot, but this was different. His brother shared outloud that he was hoping for an “easier” teacher this year and said he was going to get a lot of homework. So Danny was a little timid meeting her as she was not his first choice as a teacher.
She encouraged him that the stories of her being mean were not true and was excited to have him in her class. She tried to open up a dialogue with him and said that she even had family close by to where he played hockey that maybe she would stop by and catch a game. He still just stood there and totally didn’t know what to say. Of course my little guy Andy then wanted to know when his teacher was going to come to the house and say hello. I had to explain that this was something unique that only this teacher did to welcome her students and make them feel special. Each teacher has different ways of connecting with the students in their class.
Danny didn’t really know this teacher, but heard stories about getting a lot of homework. Now he got the chance to meet her in person for the first time, NOT in a school setting. I wish I could be in his little head wondering…. She seems really nice.. Could she really be that bad? This was kind of cool for my teacher to stop by…. I hope she doesn’t give me a lot of homework… She might come to see me play hockey… She is cool with me missing school, thats pretty cool… Who knows what goes on in the brain of a 10 year old boy. I usually try to get it out of him, but he doesn’t say much.
What I can say is that I know she left a good first impression on him. As I reflected on this experience, I thought of all of the wonderful many lessons to share with all of kids about this experience an 1) how important first impressions are when you meet someone and 2) it is important to get to know someone BEFORE you make judements about what other people say.
I am so excited that we had the awesome opportunity to meet this teacher and look forward to a great year. I encourage you to think about the first impressions you have experienced. Are there any that stand out in your mind? What made them so memorable?