Before coming to this school, I had never heard of this approach and had only had experience working in one other school.
My first impression was that it was so quiet. Quiet, everyone said was good, but to me it was a little eerie. Even a loud whisper would be told that they needed to quiet down. This is something that I wasn't used to seeing in a public school setting.
The day starts with a morning routine where the children are in the meeting area and greet each other. I have been there for a couple of different kinds of greetings. During one activity the children line up and shake hands, the first person in one of the lines goes to the back, everyone moves down and they shake hands and greet the next friend. In another activity the children walk around for a minute and try to greet as many friends as possible. I think these are great activities because it forces that shy child to break out of their shell and say hello to someone they normally may not have the courage to approach otherwise. It is also a great way to learn every child's name in the classroom.
The school really focuses on rules and making sure the children follow them. There are many times that the teacher will chime her bell and students need to automatically freeze and be in absolute silence. This is practiced over and over again throughout the day. There is also a "break" chair. I do not agree with this "break" chair because it is basically a time out chair in the back of the room. Children are asked to take a break and come back when they are ready.
Throughout the day they have little mini energizers where they stand up and stretch or do a little dance. I like this part of the day because children need to be able to get up from sitting all day long. For some, particularly in this class they have a hard time sitting still and these little exercises should help get some of that energy out. The ironic thing is, is that the children that can't seem to sit still are the ones who opt out of these mini energizers.
Rules are reviewed daily and children are held to keeping them. If they break the rules the teacher will take recess time away from them and have them write apology letters or a paragraph as to why they shouldn't break these rules. Children at the school are more inclined to follow the rules since they do not want this to continue happening.
The cooperating teacher has me sit in between the three children that just can't seem to sit still. The way I respond to them disrupting the classroom is firmly yet kindly ask them to stop. I explain to them that what they are doing (moving around so much on a chair) can actually hurt them if they were to fall off. I also try to explain to them that what they are doing isn't fair to their friends who are trying to pay attention and learn. This usually calms them for a little bit, but it is very difficult to keep them still for too long.
They end the day with a closing circle, where they reflect on the day and make a wish for something they want to learn about tomorrow and the coming week. I like this time of reflection because it gives students an opportunity to think about what they enjoyed learning during the day, and what they hope to learn in the next few days.
Having only had the opportunity to be in two schools, it is amazing how incredibly different they are. Both schools have a lot of positive attributes that I am taking away with me. The great thing about this experience is that I am constantly learning and will continue to learn all throughout my career as an educator.
your champion,
Maria Cosentino
"Mrs. C"
"Every child deserves a champion: an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists they become the best they can possibly be." (Rita Pierson)
The definition of a Responsive Classroom was taken from https://www.responsiveclassroom.org. Click here to learn more.
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