While debate continues nationwide on how best to hold schools accountable for good teaching, educators from around the country gathered at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst to focus on what good teaching is. Paying attention to both academic and social growth in children—that’s good teaching, these educators said at this Responsive Classroom Schools Conference. They affirmed that social skills enhance academic growth, and that the confidence that comes with mastering academic skills enhances social growth. In their conversations during the July 24–25 gathering, the educators told powerful stories of how the Responsive Classroom approach has enabled better teaching and learning at their schools. From keynote speeches, panel discussions, and small break-out sessions, attendees learned about how principals, teachers, and other school staff can use the Responsive Classroom approach to create school environments that foster both academic and social growth.

A good place to start, said teacher, principal, and NEFC co-founder Chip Wood, is to support curricula and school schedules that honor children’s developmental need for creativity, play, and time to delve deep into learning. He urged educators to speak out against one-size-fits-all curriculum standards and a single-minded focus on testing. Such approaches, he said, harm children.        [Visit Chip's blog]

Building a strong adult community at school is another crucial step, said conference presenters. Principal and former teacher Salome Thomas-EL, who has received several awards for helping inner-city Philadelphia youth overcome tremendous obstacles to reach academic success, emphasized that it takes a community to teach a child. “I was not a lone teacher,” he said, “There was always a large group of teachers supporting each other in helping so-called ordinary students achieve extraordinary things.”

Educational consultant Bruce Wellman urged the audience of school leaders to exemplify openness to good ideas, inquiry, and learning. “Modeling matters,” he said. “You can’t lead where you won’t go.”

Following are further conference highlights.

Overcoming Roadblocks

Some bumpiness is natural when pursuing any worthy goal, and the journey toward schoolwide Responsive Classroom implementation is no exception. Conference goers had plenty of chances to share roadblocks and trade solutions. Here’s a taste of the conversations around this topic:

“A percentage of our school’s staff is enthusiastic about using the Responsive Classroom approach, but many are resisting. How do we bring the whole staff along?”

“Remember that schoolwide implementation is a slow process,” said Greg Bagley, principal of Southern Aroostook Community School in Maine, which began its Responsive Classroom journey eleven years ago. “Don’t mandate for a while. Keep letting teachers choose whether they want to use the approach. At the beginning, put books [about the Responsive Classroom approach] in every teacher’s hands. Send those who are interested to training.” Then let the groundswell happen, he said, by letting others see the transformation in these teachers’ classrooms.

“Lots of teachers in our school have taken the Responsive Classroom I institute. Now what? How do we keep up the momentum for using this approach?”

“Our district created a district-level Responsive Classroom steering committee and started teachers’ networking meetings,” said Maggie West, Responsive Classroom trainer for the Greenfield, Massachusetts, public schools. The steering committee, made up of school and district leaders, meets every four to six weeks to discuss large goals in the district’s Responsive Classroom implementation. The teachers’ networking meetings, meanwhile, take place several times a year and are open to all staff from any school. Teachers come to get support from each other in using Responsive Classroom  strategies and solving everyday problems such as finding time to hold Morning Meetings and smoothing out transitions. Maggie takes notes at these networking meetings and sends the notes to all teachers so that those who could not attend can still benefit. “Having conversations with colleagues and among schools helps keep the momentum going,” said Maggie. “Having a roadblock is not so bad,” said Cherry McLaughlin, retired principal of Flanders Elementary School in East Lyme, Connecticut. “Roadblocks are temporary.” The key, she said, is to recognize what the roadblock is, see it as an opportunity to make a positive change, and get in the driver’s seat.

Focusing on Academics

Whether from large schools in densely populated cities or small schools in tiny rural towns, participants shared one basic belief: The purpose of school is to teach children the academic skills that enable them to be informed, productive citizens and lifelong learners. Given that shared belief, the question of the day was “Does the Responsive Classroom approach enhance children’s academic learning?”

Presenters answered with a definite "Yes." Academic learning is boosted not only because the Responsive Classroom approach teaches children the social skills that enable learning, but because Responsive Classroom practices actually focus on effectively teaching academic content throughout the school day.

Starting the Day with Literacy and Math

NEFC consulting teacher Sue DeMeglio demonstrated the strong academic core of the Responsive Classroom approach by focusing on the components of Morning Meeting, a daily routine in classrooms using the approach. Morning Meeting offers teachers many opportunities to include literacy and math content.

For example, when each student’s Greeting to classmates includes a descriptive adjective (“Good morning, everyone; I’m feeling cheerful!”), children practice literacy skills along with social etiquette. When the Group Activity asks students to find the classmate holding the index card that completes the equation on their own card, math learning mixes with lessons in safe and friendly interaction.

Meeting Standards While Doing What’s Best for Children

Tina Valentine, a Responsive Classroom senior consulting teacher, served for fifteen years at Kensington Avenue School in Springfield, Massachusetts, where she was a special education inclusion teacher (grades four and five) and, for three years, head teacher and International Baccalaureate Organization coordinator. In her presentation, Tina mapped the direct connections between the state’s academic learning outcomes and Responsive Classroom practices. For example, Academic Choice, a Responsive Classroom strategy for giving students some choice in how they meet learning goals, maps to the state’s requirement that children learn how to plan and assess their own work.

Tina told attendees that by demonstrating such academic connections for district and state educational officials, as well as citing rigorous research such as that by Dr. Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman, she and her colleagues gained support for implementing the Responsive Classroom approach.

“Because It Works”

From the principal of a rural Vermont elementary school to the social and emotional learning coordinator of a large urban district in Pennsylvania, educators emphasized what they’ve seen in their schools: teachers teaching better and children learning better. “We’re using the Responsive Classroom approach,” they said, “for one reason: Because it works.”