
The First Day of Class: Harnessing the Power of the Syllabus Worksheet
As a new semester dawns, professors often grapple with a crucial question: How should we best use that precious first
January 2026



January 5, 2026 | By Regan A. R. Gurung
January 5, 2026 | By Michelle Ciminelli
January 5, 2026 | By Jessica Beaudoin and Julia VanderMolen
“As we see in ongoing global youth activism, and as many of us feel in our classrooms daily, students barely have the patience to go through the motions of getting an education as a means to an individualist, career-oriented end. They are waking up to the fact that their time on this planet is limited, and that what they—and we—do now will significantly shape the future of life for all beings on this planet. Students want something different from their education than what their professors studied. How will we as educators—often exhausted, burned out, and despairing, too—rise to this moment?”
—Sarah Jaquette Ray and Jennifer Atkinson, “Climate, Justice, and Emotions in the Classroom”

As a new semester dawns, professors often grapple with a crucial question: How should we best use that precious first

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but when I was just beginning my teaching career, I had one clear goal on

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