For Blog #6, I decided to use connections about my own experiences to talk about the text.
Alfie Kohn posted a chart titled, "What to Look for in a Classroom", and the chart is exactly as it sounds. It shows what are good signs of a good classroom and vise versa.
Kohn's article talks not only about the physical items that are in the class, but the environment that the teachers and students bring into the room. I have been working and volunteering in classrooms since I was in third grade so I have a pretty extensive background in classrooms and have seen very different classroom models. I can also say with certainty and from experience, the physical items in the classroom are essential, but the teacher and the students are what make the classroom.
One classroom I will always remember is my second grade teacher's room, Mrs. Jenkins. Her room, for a lack of better words, was magical. She had a giant bookshelf filled with every book from A-Z. She had a reading nook that was always available to her students. We had accessible seating, there were very few "normal" chairs. This classroom was comfortable for everyone to come into. Our artwork was constantly on display for everyone to see. She created a space where we were comfortable and wanted to be.
In elementary school especially, it is important to establish this environment for your students so they want to be there. This sets a a foundation for them and gets them excited for school which sets them up for success. I really enjoyed this article and made me think a lot about how I can set my future classroom up to ensure engagement and excitement. This article also made me think about how over time learning environments have changed. A hundred years ago, students might have been able to sit down at a desk for 8 hours and learn, whereas today, this doesn't not apply and for teaching the upcoming generation, I have to adapt how to set my classroom up.
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