I appreciated the Christenbury
chapters this week (especially chapter 2), as I have been spending a lot of
time recently thinking about what MY classroom will ultimately look like. Having deconstructed my own attitudes and beliefs stemming from my past "apprenticeship of observation" as a student, I am finally entering the reconstruction stage as I mentally build my future classroom. One
of the main reasons I have started thinking about the image of my first
classroom, is due to my recent observations in Ms. Young’s class at
Ojeda Middle School. Throughout the last four visits to Ms. Young's class, I feel as if I am seeing a small glimpse of what my future environment could look like (or at least what I want
it to look like). At the other
schools where I have interned over the past year, I felt as if there were more things about the
classroom environment that I would change rather than incorporate. This is certainly not the case at Ojeda,
as I am compiling a detailed list in my teaching journal of all of the specific elements I appreciate and hope
to include in my own teaching career.
First and foremost, I love the
layout of the classroom. Ms. Young has built a wonderfully comfortable and safe
environment that emphasizes responsibility within the larger learning
community. She has tons of posters on the wall that are all “student generated,”
and there is not a corner of the classroom that is empty of some sort of
student work. This immediately shows the students that they are at the center of
the learning environment, and it is a practice that I plan on emulating.
I also love that Ms. Young has a
couch, a comfortable rug, and some bean bag chairs in her classroom. This may seem like a simple gesture, but I think it has a tangible impact on the classroom attitude. I
had never really thought of this before, but I know already that it is
something I wish to incorporate into my future classroom, if possible. The comfort added by
these items gives the class a living room or “home” feel that is clearly
appreciated among the students. When I read and write at home, for example, I do not like being
forced to sit at my desk- so why should
we make our students? I like sitting on my couch, or moving around, standing up, and switching seats until I find my own flow. Making these movements and comforts available to students allows them the ability to create their own authentic learning environment. That is not to say that many students do not choose to
sit at a traditional table or desk, but the important word in that sentence is “choose.” The
option of sitting in a more comfortable setting is given to them, and many students take advantage of that on a daily basis.
On top of the comfortable
environment, one of the most unique aspects of Ms. Young’s class is the
tradition of the “Classroom Agreement.” This agreement, which was reviewed and
signed by every student at the beginning of the year, is also read aloud by a
volunteer at the beginning of EVERY class. The agreement is very empowering to
students, and builds a learning community based on trust and respect (I brought a copy of it to class so we can read it if anyone is interested). Again, I
hope to incorporate a similar tradition into my future classroom. In fact, I may use the very same classroom agreement with a few minor changes to personalize it.
As Christenbury establishes in her book, there is no one way to arrange a room, to build an environment, to run activities, to interact with your students, or to manage your class. Ultimately, that is because there is no one way to teach. You must teach within your own personality, and doing so will allow you to interact with your students in the most authentic manner possible. This, in the end, is the goal. Teaching is an extremely individualized activity, but guess what, SO IS LEARNING! Just as every student is different- every teacher is different. I look forward to continuing my observations in order to select methods and activities that I may be able to incorporate into my own individual classroom environment.
