Published: September 18, 2007

Teaching Secrets: How to Smile Before Christmas

When I entered my first classroom many years ago, I found myself running to veteran teachers at the first sign of trouble, asking “What do you do?” Without fail I would hear someone say, “Don’t smile until Christmas!”

It seemed all of my experienced colleagues felt that unless you put forth a grim and commanding presence in the first months of school, any attempt at classroom discipline was doomed for the entire year.

I heard this mantra, but I didn’t want to believe it. Their advice didn’t square with my vision of the kind of teacher I wanted to be. As my career progressed, I would spend some time each summer refining my opening gambit for my newest crop of students—scrupulously avoiding any hint of the “Don’t smile until Christmas” philosophy. Eventually,...