Capital City Charter School

I visited Capital City Charter School in preparation for possibly student teaching here in the fall, and it was a lovely class to observe. Capital City is an Expeditionary Learning school and uses Responsive Classroom techniques. It is a remarkably diverse school, with brightly colored walls.

The teacher was warm, grounded and centered. This was great to see, because, one, it was a well-managed elementary school class, but also, it exemplified the importance of teacher "energy," voice quality and body language. I am aware of the importance of these qualities in the yoga classroom, and have assumed that these are significant teachers in the art room, but this was the first really good example of how a teacher can anchor and contain the classroom.

Judy was clear to say that not all days are so perfect, but she has an elegance to her classroom management. She has learned in her 15 years of teaching to follow her gut and maintain her center (her word). When something in the classroom feels off or like it is moving out of control, she does not hesitate to pause to address the offsetting issue.

She also does not take on more than she can handle. For example, today's class, began with all 14 students meeting on the floor. She gave them a clear outline of what they would be doing. She then called students, individually, to the table where there work was set up. Seven students continued work on still life paintings. Seven students worked with "centers," which looked like a free choice play. As students finished with their paintings, the children would switch activities. She breaks the classroom into groups in order to manage the classroom and specifically said that this is to address the issues that arise from transitions. She also does this because the small groups allow her to better focus her time and energy.

The students worked well within this system and seem to benefit from the reponsive classroom. There were small issues that came up during class, but with minimal teacher interaction, students self-regulated and carried on. One incident, between a young girl and boy, was particularly impressive. The girl started crying, and in following with the responsive classroom, the teacher encouraged her to use her words to work through issue. They did and the class carried on with little to no interruption.

This school was a million miles from my experience teaching at Amidon Bowen. At Amidon Bowen the emotional and energetic peaks and valleys can be quite steep, but I think the teacher, and a model like this one, are immensely helpful in evening out social and emotional challenges of classroom learning. I look forward to going back.