Although Twitter can sometimes be a complete trash fire, I stand by my assertion that it is also the best free professional development that I have ever experienced. Almost exactly 48 hours ago, I came across the following tweet (included with permission):
This is solid advice across the board, of course, and I'm sure that it is especially encouraging to new teachers to know that not everything needs to be perfect or even finished before students arrive. It is incredibly important for students to have a hand in creating and decorating the space you all will share.
However, the part that really intrigued me was the second piece of advice about the "nest" since I suspected that I was a true offender of "nesting" before I even read the clarification of what it was. I've read about teachers (and I work with some who have done it) giving up their teacher desks to make more room for student workspaces. I have admired the idea of that, but I'm not there yet; I still need a space where I can put stuff and know that students will not (or at least are not supposed to!) bother it and it will be exactly where I left it for later work time.
I am 100% a hoarder, both at school and at home. Not of garbage or animals or anything that would be a health hazard, but I am queen of "I could find a use for this!" Of course, this leads to clutter everywhere. I have become used to piles of books and papers and every available surface covered with mail and boxes and needing to clear a space on my dining room table to eat dinner. It just doesn't bother me...but it probably bothers some of my students, and it makes me, an already not-very-efficient person, even less efficient.
Every year, I do a little bit of a better job putting some systems of organization in place, and a few even last all year. But it's not good enough. It's never good enough when I have exactly what Traci Tousant describes above taking up valuable space that students could be using to store their supplies, use as a workspace, or just have empty until its purpose is revealed to us.
I went into my classroom today with the express purpose of eliminating spaces that could become nest-friendly. I changed the location of almost all of my pieces of furniture, including my desk to take up much less space; I emptied drawers of outdated, unorganized handouts and made them into student-accessible craft storage; I broke down the boxes that I had stored my books in so I wouldn't be tempted to use them as catch-alls.
Recognizing and naming the problem is the first step in the problem-solving process. It seems simple and obvious, but I have learned that nothing - except "First do no harm" - is simple or obvious in teaching. I don't need a perfect or a themed classroom, but I do need one where all of my students and I can learn together and an environment that supports that.
My 14th year of teaching starts in two weeks, and thanks to these wise words, I pledge to live a nest-free life (at least in the classroom!) from now on.
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| Graphic from https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/classroom-clutter-keep-toss/ |
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