Students stream into their classrooms. Their eyes dart around, looking for classmates they recognize. It’s the first day of school. As they sit at their desks, the teacher announces, “Let us do an icebreaker.”
These words are dreaded by some and adored by others. Whether it be Two Truths and a Lie or Would You Rather, teachers are always on the hunt for new ways to encourage students to feel more comfortable around their peers.
“I started using icebreakers more often in my Creative Writing class when I started it about six years ago,” said English and Creative Writing teacher Genevieve Thurtle. “I realized that there was a lot of anxiety around sharing writing because it’s so personal, and the icebreakers allowed students to get to know each other, to laugh together and to talk about things that were not academic in nature.”
Principal Valerie Arbizu made a schoolwide effort to encourage teachers to build community in their classrooms.
“The conversation that we have with teachers was please make … allowing students to have connecting opportunities a priority in your class, especially in the first couple of days,” Arbizu said.
“I’m really making a concerted effort this year to keep doing [community building activities]”
This encouraged Chemistry and Biotechnology teacher Leigh-Anne Ecklund to shift the priorities in her classroom.
“[Before], my priority was getting through the content,” Ecklund said. “[Building community] was something I did maybe on the first day of school, and then I saw everything the students had to get through, and … icebreakers went off the wayside. But I’m really making a concerted effort this year to keep doing [community building activities].”
Students showed a mixed response when asked about their perspective on community engagement. Some students appreciate icebreakers for a break in the day.
“Normally, since [icebreakers take place] in the beginning of class, [they serve as] a break between all the work from the last class, passing periods and the new work [from the current class],” said junior Ria Kesarwani.
In addition to acting as a break, they can encourage students to get to know each other’s interests outside of school.
“I’m excited to learn about my classmates,” said junior Sam Africa. “[Icebreakers are effective because] you have to talk about things you’re interested in and by talking about [that], you are bound to find someone that shares that interest.”
“[They serve as] a break between all the work from the last class, passing periods and the new work [from the current class]”
But at other times, students criticize icebreakers, saying they are too repetitive, artificial or childish.
“Having a seven-period day on the first day of school [means having] seven icebreakers, and it just gets really old,” said junior Vasia Kotseroglou. “Everyone’s hearing the same thing and you’re saying the same thing and it’s just not helpful.”
Kotseroglou contrasts icebreakers with talking to a friend.
“[When] you are talking with a friend, you’re talking with someone your age,” Kotseroglou said. “But when it’s answering [an icebreaker] question in front of the class, you’re talking to a teacher and twenty-four other people, instead of [having] a friendly conversation.”
Teachers sometimes avoid certain icebreakers as they hesitate to put students in embarrassing situations.
“[I don’t like] icebreakers that ask really personal questions,” Ecklund said. “I know that I wouldn’t like being asked something personal [especially] in front of … people you don’t really know… I [also] stay away from really personal questions that have the potential of triggering a traumatic event in a student. I am very careful about what I ask.”
“[Icebreakers] are something I view as for little kids”
Some students express that icebreakers remind them of a child’s game.
“[Icebreakers] are something I view as for little kids,” said freshman Darra McLintock. “The questions are too childish … It feels like something we’ve outgrown. It seems so insignificant and … a waste of time that there’s so little thought being put into it.”
The question of whether or not icebreakers are effective cannot easily be answered. De-stressing in the beginning of a school year is a difficult task. Icebreakers, while imperfect, can be a step in the right direction to break this pressure.
