What Are
Your Hopes
And Dreams?

In classrooms all over the country that use the Responsive Classroom approach, teachers begin the school year generating "Hopes and Dreams."

The process of developing hopes and dreams each year is a process of reviving hope -- which is one of our most critical community resources, says Ruth Charney, founder of the Responsive Classroom. To do our job well, to teach with conviction, patience, and skill, requires a steady infusion of hope. We have to maintain our hope that children can succeed, even in the face of struggle. We need to believe in our own efficacy; our ability to reach hard-to-reach children. We need to assert our own priorities and knowledge of how children learn. We need to say out loud that we have high expectations and good plans. We also need to invite our children to articulate their social and academic goals. Thus, we begin the year with a hopeful statement

My hope for you this year is

When we ask ourselves to generate hopes, we activate our imaginations and practical knowledge. Our best hopes can be translated into successful action plans. If I want my fourth grade students to become problem solvers, I am ready with opportunities to learn and appropriately phased interventions. To help Keisha become a better reader, a reader of chapter books, together we will select appropriate texts and a series of instructional steps

An integral part of the Responsive Classroom approach is that students are also asked to share their hopes for the school year. To learn more about this approach, click the Read More link below.

Read More
Hopes and Dreams

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