Make kids comfortable in class, give them space

I bet that many of us, when looking back at our school days, don't recall sitting in rows of desks very fondly. Even as a 50-year-old teacher, I admit it is boring to sit and listen to a teacher for extended periods. I know it is hard/impossible for primary and middle school aged kids to do so. Schools world-wide are adapting new strategies to keep students engaged in the classroom. One of the most innovative and effective is to shake up the traditional classroom seating, instead giving the students the chance to sit where they want. It's called 'Flexible Seating'.

Here are some ways teachers have implemented flexible seating:

• Working at tables or traditional chairs with attached desktops
• Standing at bookshelves or tall tables
• Sitting on rockers or stools, or on carpet squares on the floor or outside on the ground (weather permitting)
• Sitting or kneeling on pillows at low tables
• Sitting on soft seating, beanbag chairs, or couches
• Sitting on the floor in work nooks—corners created with bookshelves and walls

The whole concept is to make students comfortable as they work. I recently took a class with Grade 6 students to discuss bullying. I had the whole class sit around in a circle, so that we could all see each other and listen to what the others were saying. It was effective and they stayed engaged in my lesson for an hour. However, if I had given them a task to write something they would not have been engaged. Teachers and parents have to understand that a child works better if they are comfortable, and as long as they are engaged in the task it doesn't matter where or how they are sitting or standing.

I know some of you will argue that this does not enforce discipline. That a class will be in chaos or that students won't really work. But the evidence from several teachers is that students are more engaged in their work. Teachers report that if students are in a comfortable space they don't act out and, as long as the task is engaging they stay focused longer, which leads to better learning.

I am not arguing that students should be allowed to sit wherever or however they please at all times. There are times when decorum is important and students need to be taught that. We recently held an Indian Classical music concert at our school and I made sure the students were seated properly on the floor. But I can get a boy who has ADHD and constantly fidgets to sit for a half hour reading, I don't care that he is lying on the floor with his legs on the wall. I care that he is reading.