This week Bob and I took a mini-vacation to Ocean City, NJ. We stayed two nights in a great little bed & breakfast just a few blocks from the beach. Those who've vacationed in OC, NJ are already familiar with the quirks that define this quaint beach town. First of all, this is a "dry" town (no alcohol is sold or served on the island). This fact has two effects - this vacation spot is marketed towards families and there are not many great restaurants in Ocean City proper.
One of the most interesting (or irritating) little quirks is the lack of hotels. If you want to stay in Ocean City, NJ for the week, there are a plethora of weekly beach house rentals. However, there are only a few hotels and a handful of motels. This is one of the reasons we ended up in a B&B for a few nights.
The first morning, as we feasted on our scrumptious four course breakfast (containing enough calories for the entire day), we found ourselves conversing with the four other couples that were also calling this establishment "home" for a few days. We exchanged the usual background information and continued to chat like old friends. The conversation bantered easily back and forth between all the couples. This pattern resumed each morning (note that breakfast was always a four course meal and therefore conducive to long conversations). My husband remarked, "This is the difference between a hotel and a B&B. This just wouldn't happen in a hotel. Coming to a B&B is all about relationships."
Of course, my mind being geared the way it is, I related that thought back to education, specifically the building of relationships between students in the classroom as well as students and teachers. The environment we create is so important. Just like the B & B, we need to make it conducive to fostering relationships that will be the foundation of our classroom community. Being a consulting teacher for Responsive Classroom, I can appreciate this approach that has taught so many educators not only how to do this, but why we do this. It's all about relationships.
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