I’d been teaching for over 30 years and felt pretty comfortable with the way I managed my music classes. But a few years ago, I took a Responsive Classroom workshop, and it turned everything I knew right-side up! I now use many of the practices, such as Interactive Modeling, positive teacher language, and rules creation, adapting each as needed to fit the fact that I see students weekly rather than daily. Because I know that creating rules with multiple classes can be a bit tricky, I thought I’d share how I make the process work in my music room.
Which parts of your school day just don't seem to work as well as you'd like? Now's a great time to do some problem-solving, imagine new possibilities, and plan to make changes when school starts again. It's also a great time to brush up on Interactive Modeling, a key Responsive Classroom practice that's especially helpful for teaching routines and procedures.
Often, when I talk with teachers who have started trying out Responsive Classroom practices such as interactive modeling, they reflect, “Interactive modeling worked great for a while. My students did really well with whatever I modeled and they practiced. Then, things slowly started to slide.” Of course, I’m not in these teachers’ classrooms to know exactly what is going on, but I have a pretty good hunch—and an idea for how to change this trend.
When used calmly, consistently, and respectfully, Responsive Classroom time-out can be a valuable strategy for helping students develop self-control while keeping the classroom calm, safe, and orderly.
Santiago is at the interactive whiteboard, showing the class his solution to a math problem the teacher challenged them with. Everyone is paying attention except Claire, who repeatedly and loudly bangs her feet together. Her teacher reads confusion and tension in her scrunched-up face.
Recently I left my coat in a classroom in northern California, lost the cover for my Blackberry somewhere between California and Greenfield, Massachusetts, and made a pot of soup for dinner that was inedible. There was a time in my life when mistakes like these would have left me undone. I would have felt mortified and chastised myself for days. One of the blessings of aging is that I'm learning to be easier on myself when I make mistakes.
