Classroom Conditions:
Good & Not So Good Signs
by Alfie Kohn
| FURNITURE | |
|
GOOD SIGNS |
POSSIBLE REASONS TO WORRY |
|
Chairs around tables to facilitate interaction Comfortable areas for learning, including multiple "activity centers" Open space for gathering |
Chairs all facing forward or (even worse) desks in rows |
| ON THE WALLS | |
|
Covered with students’ projects Evidence of student collaboration Signs, exhibits, or lists obviously created by students rather than by the teacher Information about, and personal mementos of, the people who spend time together in this classroom |
Nothing Commercial posters Students’ assignments displayed, but they are (a) suspiciously flawless, (b) only from "the best" students, or (c) virtually all alike List of rules created by an adult and/or list of punitive consequences for misbehavior Sticker (or star) chart -- or other evidence that students are rewarded or ranked |
| STUDENTS’ FACES | |
|
Eager, engaged |
Blank, bored |
| SOUNDS | |
|
Frequent hum of activity and ideas being exchanged |
Frequent periods of silence The teacher’s voice is the loudest or most often heard |
| LOCATION OF TEACHER | |
| Typically working with students so it takes a few seconds to find her |
Typically front and center |
| TEACHER’S VOICE | |
| Respectful, genuine, warm |
Controlling and imperious Condescending and saccharine-sweet |
| STUDENTS’ REACTION TO VISITOR | |
| Welcoming; eager to explain or demonstrate what they’re doing or to use visitor as a resource | Either unresponsive or hoping to be distracted from what they’re doing |
| CLASS DISCUSSION | |
|
Students often address one another directly Emphasis on thoughtful exploration of complicated issues Students ask questions at least as often the teacher does |
All exchanges involve (or are directed by) the teacher; students wait to be called on Emphasis on facts and right answers Students race to be first to answer teacher’s "Who can tell me…?" queries |
| STUFF | |
| Room overflowing with good books, art supplies, animals and plants, science apparatus; "sense of purposeful clutter" | Textbooks, worksheets, and other packaged instructional materials predominate; sense of enforced orderliness |
| TASKS | |
|
Different activities often take place simultaneously Activities frequently completed by pairs or groups of students |
All students usually doing the same thing When students aren’t listening to the teacher, they’re working alone |
| AROUND THE SCHOOL | |
|
Appealing atmosphere: a place where people would want to spend time Students’ projects fill the hallways Library well-stocked and comfortable Bathrooms in good condition Faculty lounge warm and inviting Office staff welcoming toward visitors and students Students helping in lunchroom, library, and with other school functions |
|
This information was excerpted with permission from the book:
The Schools Our Children Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms and "Tougher Standards"
by Alfie Kohn.
Published by Houghton Mifflin; 0395940397; $24.00 US; Sept. 99.
About The Author
Alfie Kohn's previous books include Punished by Rewards and No Contest: The Case Against Competition. The author of eleven books and scores of articles, he lectures at education conferences and universities as well as to parent groups and corporations. A parent and former teacher, he was described by Time magazine as "perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades and test scores. " He lives in Belmont, Massachusetts, and lectures widely. Visit his website at www.alfiekohn.org
