Takin' the Long Way Round

It is hard to think about beginning again. Last year ended on a sour, and very bizarre note, so I know that it is for the best that I am compelled to move again. When I graduated from college, I never would have imagined that I would be working at my fourth school in four years. When I tell people that, I often find myself concluding with something along the lines of, "But it's not my fault, I swear!"

Fortunately, this past week allowed my to experience something wonderful that got me excited to begin again. I attended a training called Responsive Classroom. For those teachers out there reading this, you NEED to go. At first I was hesitant, because going meant giving up a whole week of time basking in the love of my darling, precious, totally crazy goddaughters, Brittney and Brianna. The prospect of leaving them in the care of their dad was not heartwarming, and I am sure that tomorrow will have to start with bathtime and the arduous process of doing their hair. Nonetheless, it was the right decision.

I suppose the best way to encapsulate Responsive Classroom is that it takes what good, interested teachers know are best practices, or at least recognizes as ideals, and distills it into a usable format. It focuses on making rules with students and helping them to follow those rules in a way that recognizes the students' and the teacher's shared humanity. Basically, it seems to be the best, most natural way to run a classroom.

The best thing about the workshop, though, was not the material. It was the time that I spent with my coworkers as we all got excited at the prospect of implementing RC in our own classrooms. I knew I was with the right people when, as we sat outside for lunch, I shared with the new fourth grade teacher at my school that I had taken the kids to a farm the year before. She immediately wanted to start planning a trip that we could go on together, possibly taking the kids overnight, which has been a dream of mine since I heard that such trips are available at the center we went to this year. We were so excited, talking back and forth, that we barely ate our sandwiches.

I had a game when I was little called "The Wizard of Oz". In it, you could decide if you wanted to take the long, safe way, or the short treacherous one. The short one was riddled with hazards that could send you back to start, but if you made it through, you would be ahead of the other players. I don't remember which way I usually chose, but there were no life lessons in that game anyway. Just because you take the long way doesn't mean it's any easier. But then again, who am I trying to get ahead of, anyway?