BY BRIANNA JONES-RUPP & NATALIE BLISS
In Rachel Delzer’s Spanish classes there is something missing that is common in every other class. Something you expect to see in a classroom: desks. Delzer decided to remove all desks in her classroom and so far she likes the change.
“I read stories of other Spanish teachers around the nation that had gone to a ‘deskless’ classroom setup,” Delzer said. “And I decided to try it out based on their reflections of their own classrooms.”
Without desks, the students believe that the classroom change has made it easier to move things around and be more comfortable. However, the lack of desks has made writing and using chromebooks harder because they do not have a flat surface to use.
“I would prefer the desks over the chairs, just because that is what I’m used to using growing up. But I don’t mind the chairs,” Amanda Hollingsworth, 10, said. “There is more room when you only have chairs, and you can move them around easier to do group activities. You don’t really have enough writing room sometimes, which means you have to pull out a folder or a binder to write on and that’s a little inconvenient.”
Some students believe that while it is sometimes more difficult to write or take tests without the desks, they like the overall environment of the classroom. Classmates feel closer and more comfortable, and some believe that they are able to focus easier in their classes.
“I feel like I learn better with the chairs around us than with just plain desks,” Taya Howard, 10, said. “It offers a new environment in our classes.”
Delzer has made the decision with the idea of trying it again next year for her other classes to see if students will be comfortable with the new chromebooks.
“I wanted to try it this semester as sort of an experiment,” Delzer said. “However, I feel that I need to repeat the experiment next semester once we have made the transition to 1:1 chromebooks. That transition will change my classroom even more, and I’m curious to see how the deskless atmosphere works once the students have chromebooks. I think that I’ll enjoy the new setup even more once we’ve made that change, so right now I plan to keep this setup indefinitely.”
