THE EVOLVING CLASSROOM, K-6
First and Foremost - Know your Students and Yourself
Find the organization that resonates with you and do the workshops!
Teaching Tolerance is a program that I refer to for guidance and to uncover the misconceptions that I have about myself and others.
Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools is a national group offering training I would highly recommend.
Fellowship for Race and Equity in Education also runs professional development that reveals and extends your understanding of yourself and others through open dialogue.
James A. Banks offers a model for looking at our classrooms and schools through a lense of equity and inclusion.
In today's world, it is essential to be a Culturally Relevant teacher. There are many other resources to unravel the social forces that dictate how we react to our students and why; I encourage you to read them all!
Mind-Up Curriculum
This is a simple, short, neuro-science based sequence of lessons that explicitly discuss the way people learn and what we can do to process information more effectively while at the same time reducing stress.
There is accurate science and meaningful activities, which quickly get to the heart of how the brain works and what students can do to maximize their ability to learn unhindered by emotional stress.
This curriculum amplifies the work I do in every other area of our school day and empowers my students to self-regulate and positively take care of their own needs as learners.
Over the years I have experimented with many classroom tools and processes; some worked well and some did not. Here are three of the main approaches that I have synthesized into my classroom with great success, both academically and socially.
My caveat is that everything here assumes you know your academic subject matter inside and out - if not, that is where you should start before you even step into a room of discerning students; no behavior techniques can save you from this flaw!
What Works
Responsive Classroom
One week of training with this program can change the classroom experience for yourself, your students, your colleagues, and the families you serve. And that is only the beginning...
This approach grows over time, slowly working on you as you evolve into the teacher you always wanted to be. Stick with it and push through the change in language that is central to all of the practices. It will amaze you how the things you say actually change your attitudes over time until the words become natural and heartfelt.
Every new teacher, or burned-out teacher should attend this professional development before making choices about how to run their classroom.
