A reflection on refurbishment and liberation

Late last term our new classroom was ready to be moved into.

After the efforts we had last year in E9 painting it and making it look better... only to find out it was going to be refurbished in the holidays... it was incredibly amazing to move into this new classroom - E7.

Now my initial thoughts were that this class would still have lots of sad and potentially negative vibes in it - due to the previous inhabitant who had over time lost her passion for teaching, was unwell and has recently left the profession after decades of dedication and undying love and care for her students.

With the refurbishment, this vibe just wasn't there anymore. The class itself had been made noa after the refurb and it was ready and welcomed us in. We have had incredible lessons so far, even yesterday with the couple of incidents in Y11, and the students appreciate our new space so so much.

This particular post is based on how liberated I feel with not having or needing a teacher's desk.

It's 5am. I should be asleep but I'm still thinking about how lovely and transformative the simple act of not asking for a teachers desk has been.

The caretakers asked a couple times if I needed one - but nope. I'm quite happy without it. Here's why:

* Our new class has heaps of storage in the backroom and in the shelves behind the whiteboards and the cupboards below the whiteboards. There is no need for everything to be piled up on my desk anymore as everything has a place. Students know where to collect things from and freely do so now. They have become a lot more independant in this way.

* Every single moment of the day, I'm interacting with my students. I'm asking them questions and digging deeper into their understanding and perspectives. I sit with each student or group, based on how the class is arranged.

* I'm not tied to a desk and so I'm able to move about the class and am forced to because there is no place that I can sit idly. When I did have a desk, it would become my source of power and control. I would sit there and bark orders or students would come to me. Albeit, if it's been a strenuous day or I'm lacking energy, I do still choose a table to sit at in class, still with a group of students and do some marking or have students come to me and ask questions. Now that I'm not tied to one place, it makes the source of good teaching - me again. I am not the desk. I am me.

- For now, that's what I can think of. I'm sure there's more but now it's 5.30 am and I'm getting tired again finally. Thoughts spilled back onto the blog. Hopefully everyone is doing well.

Will upload pics of the refurb :)