Classroom Culture and Inquiry

What is "good" classroom culture. This is something that I have been grappling with for the last 3 years. I've always been told that a classroom culture that is engaged, positive and pushing for greatness will lead to students growing.

As I think back over the institute experience, I think this is the most important take-away I have. We never talked explicitly about culture, but the significance of classroom culture was woven throughout all of the demos, through our writing into the day, throughout the improvisations and all of the other discussions and moments of inquiry. The culture of our summer institute group was so amazing. We could share our inquiries, we could wobble and we could disagree in a space which pushed us to really expand our understanding of writing instruction.

I think this phenomenal culture can be attributed to two things: 1. The fact that we're all at the institute means that we have a common goal and that 2. Because of our invested interest and our honesty we created an environment that lead to use meeting those goals. That's what we want to create in our classrooms--a culture of openness that allows for students to be honest and push each other. An environment in which all students feel connected with common goals--even if it means wobbling and being uncomfortable in some instances (because that's where learning happens).

After our demos today we were sitting around talking about our classrooms and some of the difficulties that  we've encountered--whether it be from districts or fellow teachers. When we were talking I realized that we've all encountered similar experiences, and we're all grappling together to create the best dynamic for our classroom, while measuring the demands of common core and our districts. I realize we all work to become better at our craft and to help students see themselves as source for knowledge.

I am grateful for all of the time spent wobbling with fellow teachers, as well as gaining new insight about how to help my students becomes masters of their own voice.