Just something I have been thinking about…
In a conversation with a principal the other day, she was sharing how they are moving away from the traditional desks in her school, to more of a “Starbucks” type of environment (differentiated seating, wifi that works well, spaces for both collaboration and individual time, etc.) in her school.
What I said to her (and she agreed with), is that you will probably send out an email saying that you are getting rid of those desks and another school will take them right away. The appeal will not be in doing something better, but having a “newer” version of the old.
Although there are assumptions being made here, in some cases the reason they would take the desks is because the school still sees the “old way” as the best way. And in some cases, the old is the best way, but this is not a case of the old versus the new, but ultimately about the question, “Would you want to be a learner in your own classroom?” I didn’t like sitting in those desks as a kid, and I certainly would not want that as an adult. Why is it good enough for our students?
What this highlights is that this is never about the “stuff” (again), but is often about our way of thinking.
(“Would I want to be a learner in my own classroom?”, is a question featured in this post as well as the book, “The Innovator’s Mindset”.)
