Teaching

A Music Teacher’s Honest Review of Responsive Classroom

It has been a LONG time since I last posted.  Please forgive me.  I got really excited about launching this blog, so much so that I couldn’t possibly wait until after I finished my master’s degree coursework.  Suprise, surprise, I got a bit overwhelmed with homework and had to take some time to focus on that.  In case you were worrying, I will be back more regularly after September.

With that out of the way, I’d like to give my honest review of Responsive Classroom.  I went to a Responsive Classroom 4-day workshop this summer, and I’d like to share my thoughts on that.  A bit of background first.  I am on my 6th year teaching elementary general music.  My first two years I taught K-8, and then I taught Pre-K ESL for a year, and I’ve been teaching 1-6 general music for the past 2 years.  This year, I’m teaching 1-2 and 5-6.  I teach at a Chinese boarding school in Beijing, China.

In the past, I could describe my classroom as a bit stressful, chaotic, and loud.  I always was stressed about teaching.  Secret:  I mostly haven’t enjoyed teaching since I’ve started teaching.  However, after multiple attempts trying to get other jobs in Beijing, I came to the realization that teaching is the best gig there is in China.  Because I’ll be teaching for the next few years, I’ll just have to get better at it and find a way to enjoy it.  In comes Responsive Classroom.

I was Googling professional developments and I happened to come across Responsive Classroom.  As I watched the videos on their Youtube channel I noticed how peaceful the classrooms were.  I realized that I had never had any training in classroom management in my undergraduate program, nor had I gone to any professional developments on the matter.  Literally, classroom management is THE thing that enables you to do everything else in the classroom.

After reluctantly paying the high price for the RC 4-day workshop, I walked in hopeful and expectant that my classroom would be transformed.  Each day was jam-packed teaching us how our teacher language has impact, how to create caring communities in our classroom, how to give students choices in their academics, and how to discipline children rather than punish them.  I bought a million books at the PD and left with SO MANY ideas for my classroom.

I can say that at least after Day 1 in my classroom, I notice a huge difference!  I felt that I could finally relax while teaching.  I felt happier.  There were many things I know that I didn’t do right.  I know I could’ve stopped those students from chit-chatting sooner.  But I also noticed how students were engaged in what we were doing.  There was true silence after the quiet signal.  Students were doing more reading and writing in music class.  I felt that we were truly creating a community together as we read the “Music Message” to begin our class time.

One of the most important things I learned from RC is that good behavior is a skill that must be taught.  When students misbehave, they are making a mistake.  We must guide them to learn better behavior.  This is encouraging to me, because although today didn’t go perfectly, I know that the students will learn how to follow the rules.

If any of you reading this are looking for a change in the way your classroom runs, or if you are looking for a PD to go to, I’d highly recommend Responsive Classroom.  I feel like it’s going to change my (teaching) life.  Maybe in a few months I’ll give an update as to how it’s going.

 

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