As I was welcoming students back on campus on August 26, all entering a new grade level, I couldn’t help but notice that so many had new backpacks, new haircuts, new fad figurines dangling from their bags, new clothes or shoes. It looked like they were using this new school year as a fresh start from last year’s things. They were all eager to reconnect with their friends but even more eager to meet their new teachers and make a good first impression. 

I read somewhere that people make up their mind about you in the first few seconds of meeting you for the first time; that the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” is not really what people actually abide by. And that this first impression is hard to dismiss afterwards. I have to hope that it is not 100% true and that it’s never too late to change people’s minds or what they think of us, even when we are adults. But If we need at least ONE place to be where everyone gets second, third, fourth chances, it should be at school. School is the place where we need to encourage students to give others and themselves second chances. We are at school to better ourselves, to learn from our mistakes and believe that everyone can prove us wrong. Students should be welcoming the reset that new school years provide as a great opportunity.

During the excitement of the first days of school, I did appreciate the fact that students are lucky. Lucky in the sense that they get an automatic reset each year. They get to meet a new teacher and new peers, thus getting a new chance at a first impression. Like New Year’s resolutions, new school years are a time to commit to improving the version of ourselves people know. So let’s all give our students/children this chance to change our minds, to surprise us, to grow and change in front of our eyes. Let’s trust that they are trying their best each year to create the better version of themselves and let’s just be there to guide them. Let’s make it clear to them that we have an open mind and that even if they make a mistake, we can reset our opinion of them when they try again.

I believe the notion of second chances lives in all three of our AAS Core Values: Respect, Commitment and Excellence. I wish everyone a great new school year at AAS and plenty of opportunities for resets. 

Resources:

• The Do-Over: How To Correct A Bad First Impression - The Hedges Company
• 5 Ways To Make a Killer First Impression
• How Important Is Your First Impression Really?
• Acting on impulse | Health & wellbeing | The Guardian