This week I was places in a 3rd grade class, which had a much different layout from last weeks 7th grade class. The 7th grade classroom was made up of rows of desks, with the teachers desk in the corner at the front of the classroom. This made for a good way of showing a bit of power. The teacher is always in sight, your always facing her direction, and she can always see you. If the teacher chose to remain behind the desk, she would’ve had that barrier up between the students. That barrier that says “I’m the boss of you, remember whos in charge”, which in all fairness can be helpful with a group of 7th graders. At that age kids can start getting more disrespectful, so that structured power could be helpful.
The 3rd grade classroom was much different. Instead, the students were in table groups, or “pods” of 4, facing each other. The teacher did not have a desk, just a table at the front for her notes and computer. The important thing here, is that there was nothing between the teachers and the students. If the teacher were to sit at her table all class, she would have to turn around to keep eye contact with the students. This lead to her spending the entire class on her feet, at the front of the room, keeping the students engaged. Even when playing a video for a “story time” she moved to sit an an empty seat in one of the table groups. I think this kind of set up works very well for these younger children.
The lack of barriers between each other and the teachers lets everyone be more comfortable, and more trusting within the classroom, which lets them be more productive. And for students who are being disruptive, annoyed, or just burnt out social, there’s a couple desks in the back corner of room. This corner is called the “calm corner” with a few books and breathing exercises. It did seem like it could be helpful to students, though I didn’t see any opt to use this during the day. What I did see the students use, were these “privacy boards”. During silent reading and writing times, and I assume many other activities, students have the option to take a small cardboard stand on their desk, letting them have a bit more personal space than they would have in their table groups. I think these are a great way to balance the socializing of students with a bit of personal space, or boundaries. I think finding this balance was incredibly important, especially in these younger years. Kids don’t just learn subjects at school, but also how to socialize, how to build relationships, how to act around other people. Striking this balance of letting people share spaces, yet respecting boundaries at the same time, is a great thing to see implemented so effectively.