responsive classroom

[peacepiece]

My son is in second grade this year and I am just becoming familiar with this learning style. Any opinions out there... pros or cons? I am feeling REALLY unhappy with this curriculum.. today he learned about rules and expectations instead of doing journal or spelling. I can understand the first few days of school, but into the third week?????

[eclipse]

I've never heard of it. Can you explain a little more about it?

[Momily]

I teach at a RC school, and send my child to a RC school. There are things I like and things I don't but the things I like outweigh the ones I don't or I wouldn't have chosen the schools.

To give you an idea of the theory behind RC here are some of the basics.

1) RC isn't really an "approach to learning" it's a social curriculum, and a framework for behavior management.

2) Building community -- every day in every responsive classroom starts with a classroom or all-school meeting, at which children greet each other, share, and engage in some kind of fun community building activity. One of the core beliefs of RC is that if we get to know one another (teachers knowing kids, kids knowing teachers, and kids knowing each other) it will be easier to build empathy and positive behaviors. In addition to the year long focus on morning meeting, you'll find other common community building elements in all responsive classrooms -- in the fall teachers join their kids on the playground and teach them cooperative games before they set them loose. Every child's photo is displayed prominently in the classroom. Children start the year by articulating their hopes and dreams for the school year. Children and adults also spend time together developing a list of classroom rules and creating a social contract they can all live by.

3) Guided Discover/Routines and procedures -- RC is based on the belief that children want to live up to adult expectations, and that if we make those expectations clear children will fall in line (for the most part). As a result, at the beginning of the school year teachers spend time explicitly introducing each material and routine. Whereas in a regular classroom teachers might jump right into reading lessons, and then have to stop a lot to correct kids "No, that's not how we use that art material" "We don't put books on the floor" RC classrooms take their time showing kids up front the way we DO want them to use art materials, or treat their friends, or line up, or select books from the classroom library, and then spend very little time correcting behavior later.

3) Logical consequences/proactive discipline -- Teachers in RC classrooms talk to children with respect and generally find that children return that respect. When children do get out of hand, they offer logical consequences. Children who are being disruptive may be asked to leave the group for a short period. Children who do damage to something in the classroom may be asked to fix it or clean it, and children who treat a classmate unkindly may be asked to do something kind to make up for it.

Overall, as I said, I like RC. I like the tone of the schools -- the way the children and teachers talk to each other. I like the emphasis on community, rather than scrambling to spend every minute on academics. I do agree that the start up can be slow in the beginning, although good teachers work academics into a lot of the "First Six Weeks of School" stuff. For example, there's no reason why the Hopes and Dreams can't be the first writing assignment of the year, or why children can't graph and analyze votes on different rules. I also sometimes find that the guided discovery process can be a little limiting on children's creativity, because if teachers aren't very careful their demonstration of one way to use a material can be taken as the only way to use a material.

[escher]

I LOVE RC and use it all the time in my teaching. I've found that spending more time on the routines at the beginning makes everything go so much faster throughout the year that I end up being able to do MORE academically in the long run. You can get more information on their website (responsiveclassroom.org).

[blizzard_babe]

From what I've seen, more time spent on procedures at the beginning of the year means a LOT more gets done (more efficiently with less foot-dragging and time spent on non-learning activities like passing out supplies, etc). It DOES take longer to get started at the beginning of the year. Basically, you have to set up an environment where every student knows exactly what they need to accomplish a task, and they know how to meet those needs.

It DOES take time, and can be frustrating at the beginning, but a TOTAL class understanding is necessary for it to work. The goal (at least *my* goal) is to have every student responsible for his/her own needs. Students can be far more proactive and self-directed when they understand and can independently and creatively (in new situations that haven't been explicitly taught).

I say give it two months. In my experience, time spent at the beginning of the year more than "pays for itself" when students are able to independently accomplish tasks of their own choosing. A teacher can allow a lot more academic freedom when he/she knows that his/her students don't require procedural hand-holding.

[mandolyn]

This sounds really nice! How would I find an RC school? I live in Orlando, FL if anyone knows of any around here.

Mandy

Originally Posted by Momily

I teach at a RC school, and send my child to a RC school. There are things I like and things I don't but the things I like outweigh the ones I don't or I wouldn't have chosen the schools.

To give you an idea of the theory behind RC here are some of the basics.

1) RC isn't really an "approach to learning" it's a social curriculum, and a framework for behavior management.

2) Building community -- every day in every responsive classroom starts with a classroom or all-school meeting, at which children greet each other, share, and engage in some kind of fun community building activity. One of the core beliefs of RC is that if we get to know one another (teachers knowing kids, kids knowing teachers, and kids knowing each other) it will be easier to build empathy and positive behaviors. In addition to the year long focus on morning meeting, you'll find other common community building elements in all responsive classrooms -- in the fall teachers join their kids on the playground and teach them cooperative games before they set them loose. Every child's photo is displayed prominently in the classroom. Children start the year by articulating their hopes and dreams for the school year. Children and adults also spend time together developing a list of classroom rules and creating a social contract they can all live by.

3) Guided Discover/Routines and procedures -- RC is based on the belief that children want to live up to adult expectations, and that if we make those expectations clear children will fall in line (for the most part). As a result, at the beginning of the school year teachers spend time explicitly introducing each material and routine. Whereas in a regular classroom teachers might jump right into reading lessons, and then have to stop a lot to correct kids "No, that's not how we use that art material" "We don't put books on the floor" RC classrooms take their time showing kids up front the way we DO want them to use art materials, or treat their friends, or line up, or select books from the classroom library, and then spend very little time correcting behavior later.

3) Logical consequences/proactive discipline -- Teachers in RC classrooms talk to children with respect and generally find that children return that respect. When children do get out of hand, they offer logical consequences. Children who are being disruptive may be asked to leave the group for a short period. Children who do damage to something in the classroom may be asked to fix it or clean it, and children who treat a classmate unkindly may be asked to do something kind to make up for it.

Overall, as I said, I like RC. I like the tone of the schools -- the way the children and teachers talk to each other. I like the emphasis on community, rather than scrambling to spend every minute on academics. I do agree that the start up can be slow in the beginning, although good teachers work academics into a lot of the "First Six Weeks of School" stuff. For example, there's no reason why the Hopes and Dreams can't be the first writing assignment of the year, or why children can't graph and analyze votes on different rules. I also sometimes find that the guided discovery process can be a little limiting on children's creativity, because if teachers aren't very careful their demonstration of one way to use a material can be taken as the only way to use a material.

[mandolyn]

Forgot to sub...

[blizzard_babe]

Originally Posted by mandolyn

This sounds really nice! How would I find an RC school? I live in Orlando, FL if anyone knows of any around here.

Mandy

It's hard to say. "Responsive Classroom" can be implemented on a whole-school basis, or one teacher can choose to do it in his/her classroom. I haven't heard of a listing of official "RC" schools... and I know teachers who practice many of the RC concepts but haven't taken the program's official courses so probably wouldn't be included in such a listing. You'd probably have to ask around at individual schools... but someone may know of a listing that I don't.