Can we just talk about this article that dropped into my inbox this afternoon?!
http://neatoday.org/2016/09/23/ditching-classroom-desks/?utm_source=nea_today_express&utm_campaign=161019neatodayexpress&utm_medium=email&utm_content=starbucks There are so many great points they bring up that I could relate to. Here are some of my comments... There is something orderly, functional and maybe even comforting about students sitting behind rows and rows of desks all facing the teacher. – Yes, more comfortable for the teacher because order is the traditional staple of classroom management. ...messing with the classroom furniture could invite additional classroom misbehaviors – This is a classroom management issue, and although you will learn management styles in college, the most effective learning will be the kind that occurs in the moment. I’ve become convinced that traditional educational settings dull the senses. – I agree!! It stifles creativity, and after all, don’t we want our students to be innovative? How can we foster progress and thinking outside of the box when we confine the physical space? ...it’s the openness of her classroom that provides the collaborative space and the ease of movement to keep students “awake and engaged.” – I have noticed I’ve had the head-down, sleeping battle far less with my students this year! ...look at less-expensive options, such as yoga or bath mats and crate seats. – I disagree, I don’t think some of these items would hold up in the long run. Then you’ll have spent the same amount of money replacing an item multiple times when you could have just purchased one quality item. Teachers will likely face a level of skepticism from parents – I disagree with this. I have not had one disagreeable comment from a parent about the classroom. If anything, I would predict that they are hearing more about the classroom at home than they would if the old furniture was still in use as the article goes on to state. It’s not just an issue of having top-notch classroom management skills (though this is critical), but educators must be ready to surrender a degree of authority. – Finally, this is addressed. You have to let go of the notion that the student will sit still in the chair. That’s not what the new designs are promoting. You have to let go and accept that some students just wiggle and acknowledge the fact that yes, the student is still wiggling, but now they are engaged in the learning while they are fidgeting. Accept the classroom management challenge as professional development. I have more than one student that likes to zip around the classroom in the wheeled chairs, but it only takes one time of swapping the wheeled chair for a green stool (also designed for fidgeting but without mobility) and they buckle down. Actually, most of the time, suggesting that I’m going to swap out the chairs if they can’t handle it nips the problem efficiently.
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December 2016
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