Students take a Bahamas break
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

Educating outside the box (l to r) Carol Virzi McLaughlin and Diane Lavery watch on as fifth-grader Kylee Smith takes a break in the Bahamas. PHOTO/MELISSA MUNTZ

Shrewsbury - How great would it be if every time we did something we weren't supposed to do, we got a nice vacation to the Bahamas?

That's exactly what's happening for the students in Carol Virzi McLaughlin's and Diane Lavery's fifth-grade classrooms at Sherwood Middle School in Shrewsbury.

The two teachers run their rooms under the responsive classroom model, and have a special area of the classroom designated for students who need a vacation from class to calm themselves down, take a mental break or think about something that they may have done that they shouldn't have.

Unlike most time-out areas, though, this one has a definite Caribbean vibe. Ocean view tablecloths, leis and plastic pineapples decorate the area, creating a soothing setting that promotes relaxation, introspection and an overall calm within its current vacationer.

"It's a breath of fresh air for them," McLaughlin said. "It creates a little oasis in the classroom."

By presenting what could be seen by children as a negative area in a positive light, McLaughlin and Lavery's Bahamian break space has gained the approval of their students.

"It's not like a punishment," fifth-grader Swetha Amaresan said. "It helps us because we can calm down and be by ourselves."

"The Bahamas is fun because it beats going to the principal's office," Tanner Wiburn said.

But it isn't all rest and relaxation in the Bahamas. While they're there, students are encouraged to examine why the negative behavior took place and determine what need was fulfilled by their action.

For example, a child taking someone's pencil is a negative action. If he took it because he didn't have one, he has pinpointed his need. By doing this, the teachers said, the children will be able to better focus on and communicate the needs they never realized they had.

Children also fill out fix-it plans where they decide how they will remedy the negative behavior that landed them there.

"It's an opportunity for them to make a better choice without anyone telling them what to do or how to act," Laverly said. "They determine what they can do to fix what they have caused."

Fix-it plans can range from a child apologizing to the teacher for speaking out in class to a student decorating a classmate's locker after saying something hurtful.

Under McLaughlin and Lavery's direction, the class collectively agreed on a list of remedies, called the Apology of Action, that can be used to make up for the negative act.

The list includes letter and e-mail writing, balloon giving, an agreement to talk things out calmly or play-date invitations.

"If you hurt someone's feelings and sorry isn't enough, you can give them three choices and they pick which one they would like," Erin Cossette said. "It's good because it teaches that person to forgive, too."

Students aren't the only ones who have vacationed in the Bahamas this year. Laverly has taken the trip to show children that teachers, too, need a mental break every once in a while.

"It shows them that we're human, too, and we get tired and frustrated, and that we know how they're feeling," she said. "It also helps them see that it's okay to talk about these feelings."

So far, close to a dozen children have spent time in the Bahamas this year, either by their choice or with the encouragement of their teachers. How long is the average fifthgrade Bahamian vacation? Just about two minutes. The teachers said they're hoping the lesson, however, will last a lifetime.