Hallways, Lunchrooms, and Other School Spaces

As students arrive first thing in the morning, I’m stationed in my customary position at the door, ready to greet each one. I offer Chase our usual gentle double fist bump and a “Good morning, Chase. It’s so great to see you. How are you this morning?” She replies, “Uh…

Last week, when the national news media picked up a story about a 2nd grader's idea for making recess work better at his school, Roundtown Elementary principal Matthew Miller contacted us right away. "I want you all to share in the excitement and celebrate this," he said, "because the idea…

The school bus is a hot spot for bullying, one of the least supervised and least programmed parts of children's school day. With nothing to do and no one to stop them, children can get out of control and mean behavior can flourish on the bus. After the well-publicized event…

Summer camp was a big part of my childhood. When I think back to my experiences at sleep-away camp, I remember a clear line between the camp with an atmosphere of safety and kindness and the camp with an atmosphere of recklessness and cruelty. At the first camp, the counselors…

A few years ago, at dismissal time at Four Corners Elementary School in Greenfield, Massachusetts, 229 students in grades K through 5 would leave their classrooms simultaneously and head for the school's front door, where a bottleneck formed each day. School staff, recognizing that this situation often left children feeling…

The playground is a hot spot for bullying in schools. Often lightly supervised, recess takes place outside the structures and expectations of the classroom. It's a time when children try out mean behaviors such as teasing, exclusion, and intimidation, and as I've said before, when small acts of meanness goes…

Bus rides are often the least supervised part of children's school days. They are also a part of the day without structured activities. That's a terrible combination. No wonder we hear about and see so many examples of children bullying and being bullied on the bus. Elementary school teachers and…

Have you watched that video that shows middle school students on a school bus, bullying their bus monitor? I watched it a few days ago. The video is painful, even disgusting, but if you're wondering why people who are bullied don't stand up for themselves and put a stop to…

Were you one of the kids who got picked last for kickball? I was, and I hated it, until I figured out how to beat the system. My Catholic school didn’t have equipment for recess games, so kids brought their own balls, bats, mitts, jump ropes, and so on. The…

All too often, the caring, cooperative, responsible, friendly behavior that is expected, practiced, and seen in the classroom breaks down when the children hit the lunchroom. To truly change the dynamics of the lunchroom environment, schools must address the issues through a schoolwide effort involving all staff and an examination…

Think of a place where you feel welcome as soon as you arrive. For some people, that place might be home; for others, someplace where they eat, play, work, or shop; for others, a favorite vacation spot. When you think of places that feel welcoming to you, does your school…

"Where should we start?" is a common question for schools that want to implement the Responsive Classroom approach schoolwide. There's not one right answer, although it's definitely helpful to invest early on in helping teachers master the core classroom practices. Besides that, a good way to start is to establish…

When Bristol Elementary School, a public school in a small Vermont town, started its journey of Responsive Classroom implementation a few years ago, it took a two-pronged approach, focusing simultaneously on classroom practices and a few high-impact schoolwide initiatives. In both areas, the contributions of educational assistants and other support…

When I was a second grader, my teacher would take us outside on mild afternoons to relax with whatever book we chose. We’d munch snacks and chat as we read together. Those lovely times celebrating books and ideas are cherished memories and something I wanted my own students to experience.…

Teachers Help Build Bus Communities At Grafton, all 707 students are assigned to a bus. "That means fifteen buses with all the usual problems, including bullying," says fifth grade teacher Martha Hanley. Recognizing that children's experiences on the bus were affecting their ability to learn in school, she and seven…

Despite increasingly packed school schedules, one-size-fits-all curricula, and standardized testing, schools can reshape children's days in ways that help them learn, grow, and enjoy childhood. In her classic book, Teacher, educator Sylvia Ashton-Warner describes the daily rhythms of classroom life. Simply and poetically, she writes that children need time to…

Lunchtime used to be chaotic at Garfield Elementary, where students eat in shifts, with up to 180 students in the cafeteria at any given time. Disrespectful behavior was common, and a steady stream of discipline referrals flowed from the cafeteria to the office. That changed after school leaders prioritized improving…

Early this school year, our director, an enthusiastic supporter of the Responsive Classroom approach, suggested that I create a display in our school’s main entryway to introduce the approach’s core ideas. I made a large, bright bulletin board consisting of three posters that briefly defined the approach, explained Hopes and…

School Spotlight: Dame School, Concord, New Hampshire When the morning bell rings, Linda Stephenson, the guidance counselor at Dame School, steps out of her office. A moment later, children start coming through the front door of the school. “Good morning, Parker,” Linda says to one first-grader. As children walk into…

A whistle blows, signaling that the day is about to begin. The children scamper to organize themselves into grade-level lines. On an adult’s signal, one line moves toward the building, pausing at the door. “We are about to go inside. What kind of waves will we use?” the adult asks…

“They’re fine when they’re with me. But when they step outside the walls of my classroom, their behavior falls apart,” says a fifth grade teacher. It’s a common lament. Many teachers have success in teaching children to be calm and respectful in the classroom, only to have the children “lose…

Q: The classroom environment is calmer and friendlier when I work with the children to create classroom rules. But I still get reports from lunch, recess, and special area teachers about problematic behaviors in these areas. How can I help the children pay attention to our classroom rules even when…

Adapted excerpts from Northeast Foundation for Children's new book, Kids Taking Action: Community Service Learning Projects, K-8 Over the years, third grade teacher Karen Lefave had become increasingly concerned about how the morning bus ride affected her students at Brayton Elementary School in North Adams, Massachusetts. "Bullying on the bus…

It's a cool, crisp, autumn morning as 100 second and third graders burst onto the playground for a much-needed break from the academic demands of the day. Some make a beeline to a kickball game starting up in a far corner of the playground with the "recess/lunch teacher" serving as…