From MINE to OURS!

When contemplating my beliefs and how to align my practice with those beliefs, the environment I create in my classroom becomes very important. As a future teacher, I often find myself daydreaming about how my classroom might look.  What will be adorning the walls, how will the furniture and reading nooks be setup to get students excited about reading and learning?  Over the last couple years, these daydreams have been filled with bulletin board ideas, cute and comfy reading beanbags, and countless other things I think will make my classroom feel welcoming.  Missing from this daydream...my students ideas and feelings about the space. Granted, I do not have my own students quite yet, but I have realized it is important to begin reflecting and planning how I will make my classroom, our classroom.  This idea of our classroom, unfortunately and strangely hadn't occurred to me.  I thought I would walk in and "put up" all the things I thought were important and fill in with my students work.  I now feel I would have been going about it all wrong.

I want to create an environment where my students feel ownership over and responsibility for our classroom. I plan to do this by asking them how they would like certain things setup in the room, where they think the most logical location for our supplies would be, or where seems the most comfortable place to put our rug for a meeting area.  In Teaching with Intention, Debbie Miller talks a lot about creating an environment that is aligned with your beliefs.  She stresses that the environment you create should communicate your beliefs to those who spend even a couple minutes in your room. Since reading Miller's ideas about environment, my understanding has evolved to a place where I now feel strongly that students' voices should be heard even when they have long since gone home for the day.  These voices will be heard by looking around the room and seeing all the student work, ideas, creativity, and thinking that has been made public.

Since I believe students learn best in an environment which is warm and homey, I will create a space which feels organized and logical.  I want them to know what to expect each day when they come in and feel that they can count on the same routines and traditions to follow us through the year. This, to me, feels like a family- a home.  I my family, routines and traditions are what hold us together and this will serve the same purpose in my classroom.  The warmth in the environment will not only radiate from me as the teacher with a passion for teaching and learning but from the interactions between children.  They will know they are loved and respected in our community and family of learners.

Since I believe students learn best in an environment that reflects them and their classmates, I am taking a page from Debbie Miller's book once again.  Debbie Miller proposes a challenge to all teachers when she writes, "That's why on the first days of school the classroom walls, bulletin boards, and doors will be almost bare. That's as it should be! Don't jump in and 'put stuff up' just to make yourself feel better.  Be Patient. Wait" (Miller, 42).  I am still reflecting on this idea but have come to really appreciate what the blank bulletin board could represent.  The excitement of walking into your new classroom and looking around to find colorful yet blank bulletin boards.  Could this work? I think yes! With one comment, during morning meeting, about how we are going to fill our boards with so much fun, exciting, and challenging learning- the students will be itching to get started.  This is my hope at least.... Besides, who doesn't love the look and feel of freshness. To me this sounds mysterious and exciting!

Below I have included a hand-drawn (not to scale...are you kidding me... I left design school a long time ago!) depiction of my dream classroom. The spaces, resources, and nooks I have been daydreaming about for the last however many years.  Now I realize, this "dream" of a classroom won't necessarily be feasible when I actually walk into that first classroom, but a girl can dream can't she? The red dashed line represents the easy walking paths I have considered for facilitating desk work and over the shoulder conferring. I know it is small and in pencil but I am hoping my ideas are clear and, one day when you walk into our classroom, my beliefs will be this clear, as well.

Let me know your thoughts about my diagram.  Offer advice or suggestions from your experience that might help me to better meet the needs of my students. I would love to hear whatever you have to offer!