I recently came across the wonderful site of our English department colleague Cristina Katopodis and wanted to share two ideas for the first week of class.

In a nutshell, she proposes that we write a “welcome letter” to students at the beginning of class, expressing in a much pithier and more personable way what we hope they might gain from the course at the outset. Amid all the disciplinary do’s and don’ts students receive in such quantities at the beginning of the term, I would imagine that such a letter feels validating to students, especially at a fast-moving commuter campus like ours where it’s easy to get lost, in all senses.

Christina also provides a draft statement welcoming students to office hours. We all know that office hours are an underutilized resource at Hunter, and Christina’s model squarely confronts students’ potential conflicts, inner and outer, that prevent them from stopping by. I’m gonna try it myself.

But seriously, just check out the whole site and the fantastic book she co-wrote with Cathy Davidson as well.

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