Progressive educator Ruth Charney to speak Oct. 28

Event Calendar Listing
Tuesday, Oct. 28
4:30 p.m.
Twilight Auditorium, located on College Street (Route 125)
Free and open to the public


Tuesday, Oct. 28
4:30 p.m.
Twilight Auditorium, located on College Street (Route 125)
Free and open to the public

Ruth Charney, a founder of the Greenfield Center School in Greenfield, Mass., and the Northeast Foundation for Children, will speak in Twilight Auditorium at Middlebury College on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 4:30 p.m.

The Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. (NEFC) was founded in 1981 by a group of public school educators who had a vision of bringing together social and academic learning throughout the school day. Today NEFC has a staff of 30 who work at its office in Turners Falls, Mass., and over 100 consulting teachers who work in the field. Charney and her colleagues developed what have come to be known as the “Responsive Classroom” strategies.

The Responsive Classroom is an approach to elementary teaching that emphasizes social, emotional and academic growth in a strong and safe school community. The goal is to enable optimal student learning. Created by classroom teachers and backed by evidence from independent research, the Responsive Classroom is based on the premise that children learn best when they have both strong academic and socio-emotional skills. The approach integrates classroom and schoolwide practices to help children build up both of these skill sets.

Charney is the author of “Teaching Children to Care: Classroom Management for Ethical and Academic Growth, K-8.”

The event is sponsored by the Middlebury College Teacher Education Program.

For more information contact Trish Dougherty at 802-443-5013 or pdougher@middlebury.edu.