In the very early stages of my student teaching I was lucky enough to have a cooperating teacher who was a "coach" of Responsive Classroom. This philosophy states that the social curriculum is just as important as the academic curriculum within a classroom. This exposure to RC forever changed the way I would teach.
I strongly believe that teaching students how to be a respectful, responsible student is necessary to academic success. In order for a classroom to be a place in which students can effectively learn it must be safe, calm and respectful. One can never assume that any of your students will come in knowing how to behave in a safe, calm or respectful way; for that reason I feel that I must teach them about manners, patience, understanding and other respectful qualities.
The easiest way to do this is to consistantly model what a respectful person looks and sounds like. I'm always very conscious about my tone, manners, and, most recently, my non-verbals. I present multiple opportunities for my students to work collaboratively together in various academics, but also in peer-mediation situations. Very rarely do I find myself working through the problem for them but with them in a way that helps them to see how they can do it on their own the next time a similar problem may occur.
Each year I am pleasantly surprised with the community that is built amongst our class. I see a group of kids that genuinely care about each other and like to see their friends succeed. I'm very confident that these are the results of intentionally teaching social skills on a daily basis.
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