Henry David Thoreau said, “trust no thought you get sitting down.” Was he referring to the traditional classroom? Years ago, I attended a retreat with all the 6th grade teachers in our middle school. We were asked what is needed to improve the education of our students. The answers depended on the subjects taught. The math and science people wanted more computers, the English and reading people wanted newer books.  “Get rid of the desks,” was my suggestion. “Those desks are not conducive to learning. Have you ever tried siting in one? The only ones that benefit are the desk manufacturers. What a sweet deal with the school district that must be.” Unfortunately no one agreed or disagreed.

Imagine a learning environment without desks! But how would the students learn? My plan is simple – have them sit on the floor, stand up, move around. We could have a learning lab that is literally hands on. Relax, we could have simple stools, sofas, and even recliners when we needed to sit.

Most of our early learning was done outdoors: making mud pies, picking up leaves, catching fireflies and butterflies, running, oh yes, the running!  As we grew older, some of our best and lasting learning happened in extracurricular activites like sports, clubs, school newspaper,etc. Norm Katz, Little League baseball coach taught us  what it means to be a member of a team and play as a team. Mrs. Riordan’s  rock club in 5th grade taught me more about science than her science class.

Instead of shouting to students, “sit still, don’t move, be quiet” we need to free them and ourselves to learn by standing up, moving around and making noise. That way no one would ever be sent to the hall for talking too much. We’d all be guilty.

While you learn:

STAND UP!

MORE AROUND!

MAKE NOISE!

“Trust any thought you get while moving around.”