From the Beginning

Ask anyone.  The first few days of anything are vital.  Whether it's orientation at a new job, training camp for a team, or the beginning of the school year, a lot is riding on those first few days.

I tend to be very intentional about establishing the culture of my classroom during the first few days of class.  This has evolved over the years, and is currently a mix of discussions, videos, and activities that set the expectations for the year, which are:

1. The primary purpose of the class is for the students to improve their ability to think critically and creatively.  
2. To achieve (1), the class is run through collaborative discussions, not lectures.  
3. To make the discussions run well, the students must
• serve others before themselves; in other words, prepare well enough each night so that they can be helpful to others the next day, and learn the material well enough that they can be helpful to others whenever needed
• don't let their ego get in the way; in other words, when they understand a topic, gently and humbly help others, and when they make a mistake or don't understand, humbly admit it and ask for help
• do the work; regardless of the support they receive in class from me or the other students, no one can learn the material for them
• (As a note, thanks to Brian Kight for the help in clarifying the sub-statements here.) 

Whether or not this is effective for any given class is not immediately evident, as it takes a while for the kids to really buy in.  As a teacher, I wish I could get some more immediate feedback from an outside observer on that first day, but let's be honest, every administrator and other teacher is way to consumed with getting their year started well and doesn't have time for this.  I know I wouldn't.

So, it begs the question:

If the first day and the first few days are so vital, how can we arrange things so that teachers - especially new teachers, but seriously, we all could use the help - can get feedback on their first day routine?  

Any ideas?