The other day, I don’t remember why, we moved our desks. Instead of 6 groups of four, we ended up in two groups of 12. At some point during the day, my students asked me to leave the tables in two groups of 12. I took their request lightly, and began to dismiss it. But they pleaded, because they really enjoyed the new layout of the room. They began to support their request with strong reasons, and I relented. The desks stayed where they were, and have been like that for the last couple of days.
It’s their room too. I came to that realization that it can’t always be my way, I had to let them own their classroom. When I speak to my students, I make sure that I say “our classroom”, but I believe my words speak louder than my actions. I am certainly not a dictator, but I know now that I could loosen the reins a little more.
We have to allow our students the chance to make decisions. As difficult as it may be in this time of standardized testing. We have to allow them the chance to be part of the decision-making process. As the school year progresses, I am going to make a conscious effort to truly make it “our classroom.”Letting them decide the layout of the room was a big step for me, but I am loving it. They were right, there is more space.:)
DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER 
Comments on: "Let Students Own, Not Rent! Making it “Our Classroom”" (2)
Thats a great idea! I remember as a kid, I had a sixth grade teacher who would let us design our own desk arrangements! We’d have to brainstorm possible different arrangements and then vote on our favorite, and then decide where each person was going to sit in the arrangement. It really made us feel like it was OUR classroom… and I think we behaved better because we knew if we took advantage of it by goofing off, he would put the desks back in boring rows!
Placing some trust in students is a great way to get them to actually want to be where they are.