Formal Greetings
When I was at secondary school, my Principal stood inside the door every morning greeting us. She was a stern lady with an occasional smile which was hard-earned; she meant business and we knew it. We were a small school with a small staff and she knew us all by name. We got away with nothing from the moment we arrived. Each day, she reminded us of this by standing on guard making sure we were dressed properly and on time. I expected this and it set the tone for the day. A smile from her went a long way as it never came easily. Years later I find myself teaching at KC where each morning, we too greet our students on the gate as they arrive at school. Instead of my experience however, we offer a smile and welcome for all (as well as the inevitable reminders about tucking in shirts and removing earphones!). For every ten times we say good morning, we rarely hear it back and yet we persist as we know they have heard us.
Intent
The stark reality is that for some children, we could be the first people to notice them that day. They may never admit it, but children are creatures of habit. We know that they need routine and consistency especially if it is lacking in other aspects of their lives. We pride ourselves on our relationships with children; for many staff at KC, these have been fostered over several years. We are significant role models in their lives and so we keep smiling and saying hello even if its not returned. It offers warmth. It sets a tone. It offers reminders about expectations. It builds relationships. It makes a difference.
Implementation
Lesson starts should be no different and a simple greeting is one of the highest impact, lowest implementation strategies in our toolkit. You will have your preference of course for what this looks like, be it a handshake, a smile, a quiet word of praise for some, a raised eyebrow pointed toward an untucked shirt. Or even just keep it simple by knowing and using their names, make eye contact, ask how their day is going. No matter what it looks like for you, keep doing it.
Impact
Research shows that academic engagement can improve by almost 21% if students are exposed to routine formal greetings. Additionally, disruptive behaviour incidents are reduced by almost 10%. Our challenge therefore is to embed formal greetings in our practice. Build the routine and our students will come to expect and need it. It’s what they deserve.
Further reading Cook CR, Fiat A, Larson M et al. (2018) Positive Greetings at the Door: Evaluation of a lowcost, high-yield proactive classroom management strategy. Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions 20(3): 149–159
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