Relationships are the foundation of classroom life. They underpin teaching, learning, and prosocial development. Building relationships and fostering students’ sense of community are the hallmarks of our work at Collaborative Classroom. Together, they form the centerpiece of our newly revised Caring School Community program.
Caring School Community builds classroom and schoolwide community while developing students’ social and emotional learning (SEL) skills and competencies. It is designed to help students become caring, responsible members of their school communities and, ultimately, to grow into humane, principled, and skilled citizens of a democratic society. From the first day of Kindergarten through the last day of grade 8, the lessons in the program help teachers create warm, safe, and disciplined classroom environments where students can develop the skills and dispositions they need to interact constructively with others. The program achieves this by doing the following:
- building caring relationships with and among students
- directly teaching social skills
- creating calm, orderly learning environments through the effective use of classroom management practices
- helping students acquire self-discipline through a caring and effective approach to discipline
