If I could sing a parody, which trust me, you DO NOT want to hear, I’d rewrite Megan Trainor’s famous song “All About that Bass,” with the lyrics, “It’s not about the space… all learning.” It’s almost comical for me to say it’s not about the space, because truthfully, I’ve loved putting together every single learning space I’ve ever created. From watching the evolution of my classrooms when I taught fourth grade, until this year’s space, my goals have always been the same. Use the materials you have around you, buy as little standardized stuff as possible, create the space, and remix, redo, and revise to make the space work for learners.
1.) It’s about the collaboration. Does the space support it? Are there places to gather, to meet, to lean over tables together working to build, create, design, and discuss?
2.) It’s about choice for comfort. Are there 30 identical seats? Or are there choices? Are there big tables, small tables, carpet squares, high stools, low stools, places to stand? Are there choices in where, how, and even if to sit?
3.) It’s about the meaning in the mess. Your room is going to be a mess. Let that go, now. There’s going to be stuff everywhere, because learning is so far from the linear process we’ve tried to make it in education, that we’ve got to get back to the materials, hands on experiences, and mess where the beauty of it all hides.
4.) It’s about the joyful calm of kids in control of their learning. This one is hard to explain. But when you find it, you’ll know. It’s that moment when, as a teacher, you’re not telling anyone what to do or how to do it. You look around and you realize that full-on engagement is taking place and you could leave the room and the kids wouldn’t even notice. Of course, you don’t leave the room, you roam and stoke the fires.
5.) It’s about the creativity. Space inspires creativity. Look at Google’s offices. Kids need to reminders that school is ABOUT creativity. School is about developing your passions, your style, your learning, your way, with support. Moving away from standardized walls, doors, halls, and spaces means moving toward different. Unique finds a place in spaces like this.
Sure, the space is fun to put together, but it’s about so much more. Beyond the splashes of color, deeper than the bins of materials. past the matching lamps is a place where happy chaos meets busy minds. A place where the joy of finding your own passion makes your heart beat louder than the sound of all-day direct instruction. It’s a place called learning, and it’s the most important space there is. The space supports it, ignites it, and gives it the oxygen to burn. But the flame? It comes from the space between the ears of the learners who walk through the door and the hearts that beat within them all.
