ABSTRACT
Most educators would readily agree that the first day of school is the most important day as far as the establishment of “classroom climate” is concerned. It is during this first day, or first week, that a climate is established that often determines behavior patterns and attitudes for the rest of the academic year. Experienced secondary teachers know that it is unlikely that there will be discipline problems on the first day. But they also know they must set the tone and convey their expectations or the second day may be chaos. Students use this time to discover what the class is going to be like, what is expected of them and, in some cases, what they can get away with.
