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Question: I am a parent of a very bright second grader. He reads at roughly a fourth-fifth grade level and has very strong math skills. The problem is he seems to have developed the role of class clown.The disapproving responses from his teacher have given my son a negative view…

After a busy morning, Mr. Hulsey’s third graders are ready for lunch, squirming as they stand in line at their classroom door. Mr. Hulsey raises his hand, the agreed-upon class signal for attention. When everyone’s quiet and looking at him, he speaks: “Our rules say we’ll take care of each…

Learning to give and receive apologies is a complex social skill. As a school counselor, I am often asked to give advice about having children apologize in school. Are there times when a teacher should require, facilitate, or even suggest an apology? And if so, what skills do children need…

I hear a lot from teachers who are feeling frustrated by students' "chattiness." They say things like "Mike, they're not bad kids, they just won't stop talking to each other. As soon as I stop talking, they start," and "The constant chatter is interfering with their learning. They're not paying…

Derek was a fifth grader who was avoiding writing. Whenever we had writing time, he would ask to go to the bathroom, and there he would linger. After observing this for a week, I decided to have a problem-solving conference with him. A problem-solving conference is a technique for addressing…

Chris was a student who struggled socially. He was in Sarah Fiarman’s mixed-grade class for two years, first as a fifth grader and then as a sixth. Of all the points working against Chris, the biggest was probably his reputation as a trouble maker. By the time Chris came into…

A basic belief underlying The Responsive Classroom approach to teaching is that how children learn to treat one another is as important as what they learn in reading, writing, and arithmetic. We believe that social skills such as cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control are essential to children’s academic and…

How one teacher deals with interruptions and keeps learning running smoothly. Picture this: My reading group is attentive and prepared for a discussion of a favorite novel. "What if Darry had called the police?" I ask, urging them to consider other possible outcomes. Jenny initiates a thoughtful reply, but Eric…