Here's why you should start greeting your students at the door

August 14, 2024

It was an interesting thing to see in a Nigerian school but some people accused the teacher of stealing the idea. They said someone had done it before in the United States of America.

Yes, in 2016, there was a viral video of Barry White Jr, a 5th-grade teacher in America, welcoming his students with different handshakes into the classroom.

The whole world commended White for his inspiring effort, and it didn't take long to see viral videos of some other teachers in other parts of the world greeting their students the same way White did.

So, let's not crucify our dear Nigerian teacher for borrowing the same idea for her students.

Anyway, a research published in the journal of positive behaviour intervention has shown that greeting students and welcoming them with a smile bring benefit to the students and the teacher.

The study says greeting students at the door sets a positive tone and can increase engagement and reduce disruptive behaviour.

It further states that spending a few moments welcoming students promotes a sense of belonging, giving them social and emotional support that helps them feel invested in their learning.

This sounds interesting, right? Yea, and that's not all.

Welcoming students at the door according to the study can also increase students' academic engagement in the classroom. And also help teachers and students to build a positive classroom culture together.

Greeting students at the door is an aspect of educational psychology which is largely non-existent in many Nigerian public schools.

A very bright student could become the dumbest if the teachers are not applying educational psychology in their teachings. Students' academic brilliance thrives better in an environment where the tutor is not only a teacher but a friend to all students.

Barry White Jr understands that greeting his students with different handshakes for each student does not only create a friendly academic environment for the students but also acknowledges the fact that each time he greets them that way, the students are always happy.

He said, ''I am all about bringing joy to people' lives and inspiring others to do so. Hopefully, everybody can start doing it in their classrooms, make it a big thing, worldwide thing. I feel every student needs a bit of joy in their lives, it doesn't matter what it is''.

So, a Nigerian teacher has started this and we hope to see more teachers greeting their students at the door before class begins, mention the students' names, make eye contact and always give a few words of encouragement.

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