6 Ideas to Perk Up Your First Day of Class How to start the semester in ways that will pay off for the rest of the course. By Kristi Rudenga August 5, 2024. Nien-Ken Alec Lu for The Chronicle.

It’s not just college students: Professors feel excitement before the first day of school, too. That first class is imbued with a sense of hope and possibility that simply cannot be replicated.