Breaking the Ice

Breaking Breaking Breaking

The start of school can only mean one thing: ice breakers.

By Kailey Wallenius, Feature Editor

Teachers love to begin the first days of school forcing students to awkwardly share basic information about themselves to the rest of the class. From your favorite ice cream flavor (mine is raspberry chocolate chip), to the amount of pets someone has (I have one), the most boring and meaningless information will be shared with students that you will most likely never actually talk to. The idea behind ice breakers is positive, trying to make class time less awkward by learning others’ names and interests so that you will be able to better connect. However, saying your name aloud doesn’t really “break the ice,” and as a matter of fact might just solidify the ice even more. Honestly, is there ice that needs to be broken in the first place? Is there tension in the classroom that truly needs to be fixed with games? The first day of classes just makes everyone nervous. If there is tension, then it is just nervousness from it being the first time in a new class. I dread ice breakers, and whenever I have to awkwardly say my name and what I would bring to a desert island, I cringe inside. I dread ice breakers so much that I would prefer doing work over them. Also, I usually just recycle the same three facts when I have to say something interesting about myself, and while the definition of “interesting” can change depending on who you ask, my double-jointed arm or my Oregon origins really aren’t interesting at all. Ice breakers are important in a class where no one knows each other, like most freshmen, but for the upperclassmen most people already recognize each other. I know that teachers need a way for students to get to know each other, but there are so many better choices.

the Ice

Senior Lily Robinson, junior Ryan Luke, and junior Maddie Patrick work together to create a replica of a drawing for yearbook class ice breaker game. photo by Lauren Wagner

Alternatives to Traditional Ice Breakers

1. Give small tables questions to discuss certain events. This makes it so no one has to share personal information, and you only end up talking to a few people instead of the whole class, which can make the environment less stressful and intimidating. 2. Allow the class to choose who they talk to, or allow them to play some with each other so they are still talking but they aren’t feeling forced into an awkward situation. 3. Have a class discussion about a fun topic, like popular movies, TV shows, or celebrities, students can share things with the class in a more relaxed environment. 4. If you don’t have the energy to come up with something fun, just introduce yourself to your students as a way to break the tension.