Eyes wide with surprise, a grimace of disgust, jaws slack with horror, and shoulders either tense with anxiety or dropped in defeat -- these were just a few of the expressions I witnessed from my students today. Each reaction was unique as they realized the same thing: I had moved the tables and chairs!
It didn't matter which class period it was, the sentiment was echoed*:
"The tables are moved!" "Why did you change the desks?" "Ew! I don't like it." "Can we change it back!"
Sometimes the displeasure was not verbally expressed, but physically. I had at least three different students attempt to move a chair where I did not want a chair to be moved.
Of course, the only one happy about the new arrangement was me. And more than one student accused me of taking pleasure in their pain today. I was amused, but not at the pain. Instead, I was smiling at the observation that despite changing the layout, very little had changed in terms of where people sat. Nearly every class migrated to the exact same spot in the room they had previously occupied. Or at least they got as close to it as they could.
There were two exceptions to this.
One class finally had the freedom to sit where they chose (earlier in the year I had assigned them seats due to behavior) and immediately snapped back to their previous locations of choice.
The other exception was a pair of boys who decided to lean into the chaos and took up residence at a table away from their normal group. However I quickly learned that this was not a positive. One student joked that they had "breeched containment" because even though they were sitting on the opposite side of the room, they still felt the need to communicate with their former group members. (I'll address that tomorrow).
Aside from that, it was an attempted lesson in change, yet so few of them actually changed anything. Apparently we are creatures of habit and in order to combat changes we will take it upon ourselves to find some form of comfort instead.
My students are the same way. They gravitate toward comfort. And I love how you used the word echo here! ;)
ReplyDeleteThe worst possible thing to do to them -- besides turn my lights on and not use my lamps.
DeleteThat's a whole lotta drama in one day, Erica. My Kindergarteners are always excited when seating arrangements change, although they don't know the secret reasons for said changes. LOL! Love the use of prompts. I'm going to print those out and post them near my desk. Nice Canva logo, too!
ReplyDeleteI had no real reason for change; although, we did have testing yesterday and I didn't feel like trying to put everything back EXACTLY. I was inspired by a heading I saw on Britt's post and wanted to add some pizazz to my blog!
DeleteI think you just described me at our faculty meetings. I always gravitate to the same seat and the same people. I never realized that comfort may be my motivation for doing this but now I see it is- comfort of knowing my ideas with be accepted and welcomed during our work together. Thanks for the new realization.
ReplyDeleteThe horror, the horror of changing the seating chart! I can definitely relate to this slice of classroom life. I hope the seats settle in more for your classes tomorrow and that any other "containment breaches" are brief!
ReplyDeleteYou captured the students' essence so vividly in this post. I was reminded of how much hostility flared up when I saw a new family head into the pew where I normally sit on Sundays. This shamed me, but also made me wonder if the reaction was a result of fear. The fear of not being known in a place that usually feels like home. Now is the time for me to make space for others to feel at home as well. Epilogue: The family ended up sitting elsewhere because their 2-year-old insisted on sitting in a different pew. 😆
ReplyDeleteThanks both for the prompts pointer and for the apparently universal connection to how young people react to seating rearrangements.
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