Many teachers, in an effort to build classrooms as caring communities, simply avoid any competition whatsoever. Yet there is a place for competition in the Responsive Classroom and responsive school when it is offered within the positive framework of team work and group fun. Using the following guidelines, contests can be used to build a sense of community where everyone's contribution is recognized and where having fun and contributing to the team effort are more important than who wins. Offer contests in many different formats and aim for evenly matched teams. By exposing children to a wide range of contests that all emphasize the qualities of cooperation and fun, you can provide many opportunities for children to experience competition positively.
Individual classes can also work as a whole team competing against a goal or the clock.
Some contests require the participation of all children while some allow children a choice of participating. Giving children time to discuss and practice cooperative strategies helps to affirm their sense of power and accomplishment as a class community. The contest runs about six weeks and at weekly All-School Meetings teams try to name everyone in the school amid the rapt attention of all. The children practice cooperative ways to work together so that when the contest takes place it is the team effort that is acknowledged. Winners are determined by a final tallied score of points rather than elimination and sometimes partial credit is given for misspellings that have a credible explanation.