So of course I couldn't sleep last night because today was going to be the "big reveal", and we had to hope that all our stuff was in the right rooms and all that jazz (huge construction project going on...even longer story). I felt like I was going to be on one of those home makeover shows that ends in tragedy for the family who did not get what they needed.
So I walk in and.....I try not to cry. The tables are just horrible for a world language room. They gave us the most inflexible seating imaginable, short of bolting the tables to the floor. The desks are triangles, making it difficult to have anything besides groups of 4. There is no way to configure them so that no one has to turn 180 degrees just to see the TV or the front board. They are very solid and don't even move out of the way easily. Thank goodness I got rid of my hightop tables (much more conducive to the teacher who wants them for Project-Based Learning) before noon.
For some classes, the tables are fine. But for a language room?? We're ALWAYS moving around. We are doing activities that need a crazy amount of space, or that require ease of movement. Running dictation with no space to run? Cakewalk while tripping over 32 backpacks and tables? How can we dance to Papaoutai in a room with barely any room to breathe!?! Imagine a Kindergarten room with no SPACE -- it just doesn't work. And hey, I basically teach Kindergarten to 16-year-olds in French 1.
I can't bring myself to go completely deskless but after seeing the challenges of having 32 (thirty-two!) of these crazy desks and trying to make the room as Feng-Shui as possible I decided I am all about flexible seating.
I am gonna ditch some of the desks, and bring in some floor seating. I got some cozy pillows already and I think my kids will like those. But I am hoping to get some stadium seats and bean bag chairs too. I am keeping some desks in groups, and I want a big open space in the middle for kids to be comfortable while we learn French.
I was going to say that if I were a student I would personally choose a desk. But......would I? That bean bag chair looks awfully cozy...
Thanks for reading. Please feel free to share your experiences with Flexible Seating here!
Karen
Update - I lasted 1 semester with the hybrid seating model. I had a mix of desks (in small groups) and cozy seating. At the end of the semester, I decided I was ready to bite the bullet and get rid of all the desks. They came back in January, and were of course a little surprised. But they made it work and didn't complain (too much!). I had my chairs arranged in four groups of six chairs, in inward-facing U shapes. In the middle of each pod, I placed a storage crate with clip boards, paper, mini white-boards, and art supplies. I loved the arrangement, and I think the kids adapted well.
The biggest benefit was that it made me change my instructional methods. I did less paper and pencil work, and more story telling. More games, fewer worksheets.
Unfortunately, I only got a few weeks in this arrangement, as schools closed due to COVID-19 in March 2020. But once we start fully in-person teaching again, I will be excited to see how well the arrangement works.
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