Tonight, I received the monthly newsletter from my web hosting company, Dreamhost. They recently moved to a new office and posted some pictures. Take a few seconds to look at them, and don't miss the ping pong robot. How amazing would it be to work in a space like that? It got me to thinking about what my dream classroom would look like.
It would look more like a coffee shop than a classroom. Couches, la-z boys, and bean bag chairs would replace all the desks. Some students would want to sit on the floor, the carpet's so nice. A couple bar height tables would accommodate group work. My lovely class set of Macbooks would dual boot Windows. Kindles instead of textbooks? Maybe a couple generations down the road when they have color screens and amazing annotation tools. The projector, smart board, and printer would all be wireless. Give me 40 feet of windows on the eastern wall instead of the 40 feet of concrete that I have. Let's have them overlook the ocean or Niagara Falls. These windows will be highly efficient, of course; no more drafts. The lights would be silent, and the speakers would be loud. I've always like the idea of a row of framed portraits of our literary heroes. And I'd have to get my Langston Hughes autograph up there somewhere. Last, but not least, triple the amount of bookshelves--a mini library instead of a coffee shop perhaps.
While a classroom like this would be really nice, students would still forget their books in their lockers, their homework at home. Would it have a huge impact on what happens in the class? Once basics needs are met--students are warm, dry, have a place to sit and a book to read--I don't know much physical environment affects student performance. It would make an interesting study to take a class from the local public high school, and give them a room at Exeter for the year. I would think that the teacher would have a much larger effect than the environment, but it's fun to dream.
I don't know you, but as a fellow educator, I completely agree with you. I would want podiums like the Mayo Clinic classroom for the future. Bar height tables for sure, art, instead of concrete blocks what about wood? Dark browns and earth tones-- warm drinks for students during discussion (studies indicate people speak more when holding a warm drink), open air spaces and plenty of room to move. While the space is far less of a factor than instruction, it cant possibly hurt. Even something nice that drew a feeling of respect for the environment, something that didn't feel like a factory... ahhh the 21st century...
ReplyDeleteOh and the kindles for books-- we are writing a grant at Keystone to get those right now... what a thought!!!
GREAT POST!!!
I really love this idea. Have you ever asked kids what their ideal classroom would look like? I used to do that at the beginning of my HS general music classes. Their answers sounded a lot like yours. So how do we move from this industrial looking model we are using to a more relaxed, modern feel with warm drinks and naturally flowing analytical and philosophical conversations while still maintaining order and high expectations? I think you're off to at least a start with the new seating arrangement you have going on in your classroom. Have you noticed that's it's made any difference in the conversations that are happening in your classes?
ReplyDeleteIf we had Kindles for every student instead of text books students would might be more inclined to do work, I never did any of the math homework that required me to take my book home because I would forget it at home or on the bus or at tech, so it just didn't get done unless I could copy someone else's. People might say students wouldn't take care of them or something, OIl city's students all have laptops and and when a student breaks one or doesn't turn it in they have to pay for it. Buying every student a Kindle would be way cheaper then buying every text book. Get the textbook in ebook form for every class, $114 for a Kindle and 40-70 for every text book. I think it would defiantly save the school money in the long run, especially for classes that have more then one book. You could take this one step further and get ipads or some other tablet, you could use the google body application for science and health classes. Driving games....er ah. driving simulators for Drivers Ed. the possibilities are endless, assignments could be turned in electronically and notes could be as simple as typing. All of these things together could point towards more learning and fun doing it.
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