In case you've ever wondered...

I had to write a paper describing my perfect classroom. When told that it had to be at least 8 pages, I freaked. It's a twelve page paper with lots left unsaid.
So in case you're bored, enjoy Annie's perfect class.....
 

I have designed the perfect classroom for me. It is twenty-five feet by twenty-five feet and on the ground floor. The windows are south facing, so I always have an abundance of sunlight in my room. It is painted a delightful shade of blue, and it being an older building, my room has beautifully aged hardwood floors. When you first walk into my classroom, you will step on a colorful square shaped rug. This rug is for aesthetic design as well as a way for students to feel welcome into my classroom. It will also help dampen the noise of teenage feet and act as a reminder to be mindful of the noise you are making. I will keep a small vacuum in my room to clean my rugs so not to burden the janitors. This classroom will be in a rural school, will either be a middle or high school, and will run on a block schedule.

To the right of the door, and rug, is a student table with four chairs. The table is wooden and shines with age. Under the most recent coats of varnish, you can faintly see the years of student doodling and carvings. The chairs are fairly plain. The only remarkable thing about them is that they have blue tennis balls on the bottom to help prevent the noise of moving chairs and to protect the floor. This table provides a place for group work away from the rest of the class. It will also be used for make-up tests and individual study. This table can also be used for a student with ADHD, to allow them another seating choice. I will also have this table available for students with physical handicaps. If a student teacher or other guest is in the room, this table would provide ample work space as well as let them remain as discrete as needed. There is plenty of space around the table, allowing me to move it to fit my students’ needs.

To the left of the door is a kidney shaped table with five chairs around it. The only thing of interest about this table is the paint that was rolled on to the top years ago. My best guess is that the table was supposed to be green, but it has faded to an odd shade of gray. If you scrape away at the paint, you can see the cheerful green it used to be. The chairs around this table are a classic school style made of wood. I will keep the class laptop on this table, in case a student needs to use one during class. The laptop will have all the securities of any student accessible computer in the school. Students will need to ask before using the laptop. This table would be primarily used for small group instruction. The chair on the inside of the U would be my chair, ensuring that my back would not be to the class. This table would also be used for small group work, for students who need additional seating, and could be used for students with physical handicaps. There is plenty of space around this table to accommodate my needs and the needs of my students.

The central feature of the classroom is the desks. I have twenty-six desks in the room in an open U shape. The U is open to allow access to the desks, by both me and the students. I also have the desks in this way so that they could easily be maneuvered into rows facing each other. When the desks are in the open U position, I can easily lecture and hold discussion as well as be the center of attention in the classroom. This positioning of the desks allows me to move about the desks, keeping an eye on what is going on in the classroom; great for both perscapacity and proximity. When I move the desk so that the rows are facing each other from across the room, it allows for change and is ideal for structured classroom debates. I have enough room to arrange the desks in anyway needed, but will mostly utilize the open U formation.

Within the open arms of the U, there is a circle shaped rug. It is an old braided rug that might not be as vibrant as it once was, but is still pleasing to look at. It has a non-skid back to avoid and embarrassing slips and falls. This rug holds many purposes. When either I or one of my students is standing on the rug, the class should give their full attention to them. From day one, I will use the rug as a signal for the class to settle down and to be quiet. Also, when my students have presentations to give, I will have them stand on the rug. This will allow the student giving the presentation to have the attention of the class. This rug is where a majority of my lectures will be given, or started from. The rug is a focal point of the U and it will be easy for all of the students to see and give attention to whoever is on the rug. The rug will also come in handy in helping to muffle the sounds of loud, clacking shoes that might be present in the classroom as well as give feet much needed relief.

Behind the right side of the U, there are two windows. The windows offer a view of an old tree and the outside classroom. The windows are able to be opened to allow fresh air in and have blinds that are rarely closed. There are screens on the windows so that objects, or students, cannot come in or go out of the windows.

Where the wall with the windows meets the back wall of the room, there are two bookshelves, both painted white. These bookshelves hold the class encyclopedias, the class dictionaries and thesauruses, and other classroom supplies. The supplies available will be paper, pencils, pencil sharpener, and pens as well as other materials that might be needed during the school year. There will be a stapler for student use as well as paperclips, a hole punch, and tape dispenser. I will also keep the tissues and hand sanitizer on these shelves. The supplies and materials on these shelves will be available to the students before class and can also be accessed during class time after instructions and lectures have been given. On the side of the shelving unit along the back wall, there are several hanging metal baskets. One basket will be for make-up work; another for papers handed out; a basket for any accepted late assignments; and one for daily work and homework that needs to be handed in. I will have folders in the basket for each class so that the baskets stay organized.

Next to this arrangement of shelves available for student accessible supplies hang the classroom rules. The rules are handwritten in black on a white, laminated sheet of paper. These rules will be hanging up in that spot from the first day of class along with the five themes of citizenship, also handwritten on a sheet of white laminated paper. Both documents have a bright border around them to set them apart as an important part of the classroom. On the first day of class I will go over the rules and themes of citizenship as well as send home a copy of them for the students and parents to sign and send back to class. Students will be held accountable for following the rules and abiding by the themes of citizenship.

I have four simple rules for my classroom: Respect yourself; Respect others; Respect me; and Follow all school rules. Because my rules seem so simple and filled with holes, I will need to thoroughly go over the rules on day one, as well as need to constantly remind my students what the rules mean as they try to find the loopholes. I chose these rules because I believe they will create a learning environment that will be high-challenge and low-threat for the students and me. When students respect themselves, they will choose their words with deliberation and thought, helping to eliminate inappropriate language and hopefully, uncertainty. When students choose to respect others, they will not ridicule others for statements made and will gain a sense of empathy and respect that they might have not previously considered towards other students. When the students choose to respect me, they will see that I am an advocate for them and will be willing to work with them to reach their individual learning needs. When they choose to respect me, they will also turn their work in on time, come to class on time and prepared, and will give me the opportunity to teach them every day. The last rule, follow all school rules, covers anything that I may have missed as well as showing the students that I value all school rules.

The five themes of citizenship are honesty, respect, responsibility, courage, and compassion. I will discuss these with my students on day and will be able to refer to them as necessary during the school year. By displaying and referring to these themes, I will set up my classroom to be a safe and caring place where my students will be able to learn in a healthy environment. When my students engage in inappropriate behavior or are making bad decisions, I can simply ask if they are displaying the themes of citizenship. When they realize that they are not, then they will have a better understanding of what can be done to correct the undesired behavior or help them to make better decisions.

Hanging on the back wall next to the rules and themes of citizenship is the whiteboard and the Smart Board. This is visible to the entire U, and is easily accessed by me. There is also a pull down screen that hangs above the boards. I would use the whiteboard to write down the day’s schedule for each class. The Smart Board will be used when necessary. I’m not very familiar with the Smart Board technology currently, but know enough to know that I’d like one in my classroom. With knowledge of how to use it, I’m sure I’ll come up with ways to use it. I will utilize the pull down screen on a regular basis. Hanging from the ceiling, I will have one of those projector-computer things that will be connected to my computer. Anything that needs to be viewed by the whole class will be visible to everyone in the classroom on the screen. I will also have a clock hanging above the whiteboard, off to the side so that the screen will not cover it when it is pulled down. On the opposite wall, above the door, will be another clock so that I can keep track of time during class.

In the corner where the back wall meets the wall opposite of the window wall is my desk area. I will have two desks, in an L shape, with one desk against the side wall and the other desk facing the classroom. On the desk against the wall will be my computer. The computer is placed in such a way that students will not have access to it. If, for some good reason, they need to use a computer in my classroom, they will access to the laptop that is on the kidney shaped table. All presentations that may include power point or some other form of computer technology will be given to me to display from my computer onto the pull down screen. This computer is linked to the school network and will always stay at school. I will also have a personal laptop on the same desk as my computer that can be hooked up to the school’s network and will allow some flexibility for mobility in the room. It will also ensure that I can easily take work home as needed.

Coming out from the corner of the computer desk will be my desk. I will have my office chair facing the classroom, but also able to swivel to work on the computer if necessary. No matter where I am in my desk area, I will easily be able to see what’s going on in the classroom. The desk is not butted up against the wall. Instead there is an area between the computer desk, my desk, and the wall where I will have a chair set up. This chair is for students to come and ask for help, so that I can continue to keep an eye on the classroom. The chair would also come in handy if a student just needs to talk. My desk will be relatively free of clutter. I know that I’ll have some things on it, but hopefully not too much. The baskets hanging on the shelves will eliminate student work piling up on my desk. Under the desk will be filing cabinets where I will keep important teacher documents. At least one of the drawers will be locking, and I will keep any IEP’s in the locked drawer. I do not see myself spending a lot of time sitting at my desk. I plan on being an up-walking-around kind of teacher. But when I do need to sit, I want a comfortable, yet accessible place to be.

On the same wall as my computer desk, I will have four white bookshelves set up. These shelves will be filled books. These books will be available for the students to read in class or to take home. I will have a simple checkout system that is based on a checkout system that I learned from Dr. Gail Pritchard during college. I will have a sheet for each student with a place to put the title, author, and ISBN number of the book. These papers will be kept in a folder that will be on the side of the bookshelf. Every class will have their own folder. One a student has returned a book, they will need to find their sheet and cross off the book that they have returned. I will depend on the honesty of the students to keep the books in good shape and to ensure that they are returned. I hope that my trust of the students will harbor a respect for my belongings as well as encourage my students to read. Beside the bookshelves, in the corner, there will be a beanbag chair. This chair will be available for students to sit and read in during free reading time. At first, I will watch to see how the students react to the chair and how they will work out who sits there and when. In operating this way, the students will be utilizing problem solving skills as well as giving them an opportunity to learn to work together. When problems arise, and I see it arising quickly, I will go to alphabetical order. Everyone will be assigned a day that they are allowed to sit in the chair during free reading time. If I find that there is no desire to use the beanbag chair, I will remove it from the room to avoid any unneeded clutter.

As we’ve moved through my room, you will notice that there are very few things hanging on my walls. Aside from the clocks, rules, and themes of citizenship, I don’t intend on having much of anything on the walls. I believe that multiple posters and signs and pictures will only distract the students. I want to impart on the students that this is a place of learning, not for goofy posters. And it would not just be a distraction for the students; it would be a distraction to me as well. I want my room to be a calm and soothing place where young minds are constantly inspired to learn.

Now we will move on to the nuts and bolts of how my classroom will run on a daily basis. All of the expected behavioral polices; reward systems; procedures; and routines will be thoroughly discussed on the first day of class, and will be reviewed as needed throughout the school year. My first line of defense against behavioral issues is the classroom rules. Since I know that children will occasionally act inappropriately and make decisions, I have plans to deal with all kinds of behavior. For non-problems, such as brief inattentiveness that does not interfere with instruction, I will ignore the behavior. If I were to choose to draw attention to this behavior, I would be detracting from the positive classroom environment. By simply using proximity or giving the student a look, the behavior should cease. For minor problems there are many different kinds of interventions that can be used. A minor problem is one that would not significantly interfere with learning or teaching such as a student leaving their seat, calling out without raising their hand, or doing unrelated work during class. Interventions that could help stop the interference could include: nonverbal cues, such as lightly touching the students shoulder; redirecting behavior by reminding the whole class of appropriate behavior; using a brief desist to verbally tell the student to stop the behavior; or you offer the student a choice such as choose to behave or you will lose a privilege. And then there are major problems, problems that would keep me from doing my job, instruction and supervision. With major problems, I would first try some of the interventions for minor problems and if they did not work then I would have to try another tactic. I could assign the student a detention, I could refer the student to the office for the administration to deal with, or I could simply send the child out of the room if their behavior was dangerous to other students. I would, of course, immediately call the office to either come get the student or to have another teacher come to the room so that I could directly confront the problem with the student. With any type of behavioral correction the goals would be to immediately stop the behavior and to keep in from occurring again. My main goal is to stop inappropriate behavior before it become a major problem.

Rewards are frequently associated with punishments, or behavioral corrections. I think it would be easier for me to list the rewards I would not use than it will be to talk about the rewards that I will implement in my classroom. My purpose for rewards will be to support student engagement and self-management rather than to exert my control over the students. The main reward I will use is praise. My praise will be varied, personal, and sincere. When praising a student, I will use praise that will inspire intrinsic motivation such as “you should be so proud of yourself.” When my students hear intrinsic rather that extrinsic praise, “you are such a good student,” it will cause them to strive to work harder to satisfy their own goals and that will make for an excellent classroom environment. I will use praise when I see a student excel, make great improvement, overcome an adversity, or just give their best effort. On occasion, I might use some other forms of reward such as displaying excellent student work, extra activities like free reading or group writing, and I’ll probably use stickers or smiley faces on returned work. I would rather create a classroom where student want to be there and excel rather than one where I have to bribe the students to do work.

Now we will move onto my classroom procedures, routines, and policies. I’ve already gone over some classroom procedures such as where the supplies are located, when they are accessible, and where and when the computer may be used. I have also gone over my desk and stated that it is off limits to students unless I am there with them. Group work procedures have yet to be discussed, so let us talk about that now. Most all group activities will start with me giving group assignments that will be mixed as needed for the project. Optimally, I will have moved the desks before class has started, but if needed; I will have the student move them together. I will ensure that all groups are set up for success. Group rules will be the same as the class rules.

I have not gone over how I will handle transition periods. I will start the class by greeting students as they walk into the room and remind them to look at the board for their schedule and bell work. They will know where to sit because there will be assigned seating. For the first week or so of school, I will have name cards out to help me learn their names and to help them learn their seats. I will allow the students this opportunity for light conversation as long as they work is getting done. I will signify the end of conversation and bell work by taking my place on my round rug and calling attention to myself if the students haven’t settled down. If I need to call attention to myself I could easily do so by a simple clearing of my throat or by using an appropriate inductive hook to gain the students interest. I will try to use a quick transition during an activity change so that I don’t lose the interest of my students. If the students do lose interest, I will regain their attention by simply asking them to settle down. If we have to leave or return to the classroom, I expect some talking and goofing off and will allow a short time for this. When I need their attention, I will ask for it. With my last class, I will have some end of the day procedures. I will have the class ensure that there is no paper on the floor, that the desks are in order, and that all materials are put back where they belong. I will ask them to be quiet if there are any announcements. I will not let any of these activities start until five minutes before the bell rings. My hope is that the students will like and respect me enough to help make transitions easy.

I will have a consistent method for collecting and returning papers. First, I will require that all papers be folded lengthwise with their names, date, and assignment title written on the upper right hand corner. I will have the students pass in any homework or class work to the outer edges of the U and will let those student put the work in the appropriate folder in the right basket that is hanging off the material shelves. When it is time to return work, I will randomly ask students to hand back the work, which is folded in half to protect the students’ privacy, or I will hand back the work myself. I will not rely on one student to be the student helper, but rather let all students participate in order to foster feelings of a classroom community. I will allow make up work to be turned in to the make-up work basket at the beginning of class. I classify make-up work as work that was turned in while you were absent from my class. The work must be turned in the day you return unless you have discussed it with me and I allow you a grace period. This is also the basket where you will turn in any work that missed and made-up with a specified time period. I will let students have the opportunity to turn in late work if they have checked with me and with the understanding that it will not be graded for full credit. Students will need to turn this work in at the beginning of class. I will not remind students to turn in late or make-up work. I will hold them responsible for turning it in on their own.

If a student is late to my classroom, they will need to place the late pass on my desk and sit down quietly so not disturb the rest of the class. When a stopping point has been reached in class, I will take a moment to privately ask if the student is ok and to let them know what they have missed. I will not take away from teaching or learning to deal with tardiness. If a student is late without a pass, they need to sign on the clipboard hanging by the door. After three tardies, the student and I will come up with an appropriate punishment or work on a solution to prevent the tardiness in the future.

I believe that hall pass policy will be dictated by my school, but that I will be able to allow students to leave my room at my discretion. I will allow students to go to the library or other places while individual work is being done. I will not usually allow students to go to another teacher’s room, unless I know that the teacher has free time. I will keep an eye out for students who constantly want to leave my room, and talk to them to figure out why they feel they need to leave so often. I will allow students to go to the bathroom, as long as it doesn’t disturb the classroom. The procedure for going to the bathroom is as simple asking me if you can go and obtaining the bathroom pass. If bathroom breaks become a constant distraction, then I’ll talk to the student who is causing the distraction and we will try to work out a solution. If a student needs to go to the office, resource room, or nurse, I will handle it in the same way I handle hall passes.

What I have attempted to create here is a classroom where students feel confident in sharing their ideas, are comfortable in, are happy to come, and where they will succeed. I hope that my passion for learning and for teaching shines through every day. I hope to be an inspiration to my students as well as have them inspire me every day. I would like to create a community that the students take pride in. At the end of the day, I hope to leave the students wanting more and leave me a desire to come back to do it all again tomorrow and to do it even better.

The Happy Camper

So, I'm sure you're all dying to hear about my wonderfully exciting weekend, right?
Well then, I'll tell you all about it.
It all started about a month ago when my mom was telling me her plans for Malcolm's birthday present. She told me that she would like to take him to Nashville to see the Parthenon and take his little brother too. No complaints here.
When I got back home that evening, I told Forest the good news: A weekend alone!!
Now, we do get to spend time alone together on a very regular basis on account of mom wanting to spend her Saturday night's and Sunday morning's with the boys. But a whole weekend, Friday night to Sunday afternoon, with no children just doesn't happen very often.
Well, we are not travel stay in a hotel kind of people, but we know we wanted to go away together.
What to do?---Camping!!
Not scary, backwoods, no facilities camping. But State Park, nice clean bathrooms camping.
On Friday night, we went grocery shopping, packed up the Explorer, and got a good night's sleep. We slept in on Saturday, then got going, only making one stop for ice on the way. Off to our favorite camping spot in Manchester, TN to Old Stone Fort Park.
Not a bad drive, just 45 miles of scenic views. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon when we got there, lots of sunlight still.
We drove right to the campsite, secretly hoping that it would be mostly empty due to it being Easter weekend. We were just sure that we'd get that perfect campsite right by the showers and bathrooms. And maybe we would have, but in February, all the pipes to the showers froze and busted. That entire area was roped off, no one aloud.
Luckily, there is another bathroom, so we went there. But no showers.
That's when I noticed them, 5 BIG campers all parked really close together with lots of ill behaved little kids running around. But that was ok, they were down farther from the bathrooms so I figured we'd be just fine. So I picked out the perfect site right in front of the bathroom. Just perfect. We parked and started unpacking. Well, Forest unpacked. I sat around and looked cute.
We got everything set up and just sat and talked. Nothing deep or important, just talked.
6:30pm rolled around and the man decided it was time to start lighting fires. Had to light the fire pit and the charcoal-- we had yummy steaks thank to mom!
Charcoal lit without a hitch. The fire starter in the fire pit under the perfectly seasoned logs burst into beautiful flames. Eating supper by the burning starter log, waiting for logs to catch. Still waiting. Waiting some more. That's when I got upset thinking that not only was I fixin to be cold all night, but that I might not get my S'Mores!!!!
Well, being the fix it man that he is, Forest quickly threw another starter log in and furiously poked at the logs trying to coerce them to light. Two year old, well seasoned, dry logs that would not burn. The paper towel thrown in on a whim wouldn't ignite. I was not amused. It did smoke a lot. I think that's we we started laughing.
 Ha ha- we lit a smoker, not a fire. Ha ha- have to climb into the tent and get under the sleeping bags to stay warm. Haha. Oh and there are lights next to the bathroom that stay on all night long. And the quintuplet-redneck-big campers put up the twinkle lights, rope lights, and way too loud radios. Haha. (I will admit that I had twinkle light envy. But stringing them up ALL over 5 campsites with loud screaming kids was a bit too much.)
Oh, and double ha, it was way colder than we thought it would be and I froze all night long (the fire still wasn't going). So I laid on the air mattress, next to Forest, under a pile of blankets staring at the twinkling lights of our neighbors and counting the number times the oh so close toilets flushed.
I nodded off a few times but was still awake when the sun started to come up.
I quietly snuck out of the tent and climbed onto the picnic table and watched the sunrise.
Yes, I missed Easter at church today. But I had the opportunity to be outside in God's beautiful world, appreciating it in it's full glory, reflecting on what salvation means to me.
And then I went back to my beloved and fell sound asleep in his arms.
What a perfect trip.

And I did get my S'Mores!