Don't sit still!

I have had a hard time sitting still my whole life. As an adult it's not too bad. For the most part I can move when I want to move.

So I do.

I stand. I walk. I spin in my chair.

But when I was a student I was often told to sit still. I frequently found trouble because I did not have the ability, nor really the desire, to sit still at my desk.

Thankfully, times have changed.

We now have a more enlightened view of learning. Learning no longer is confined to sitting still in a chair at a desk.

Learning is active. We now understand that movement enhances learning. Providing students with the ability to make choices on where they will learn allows students to exercise control over their environment and their learning.

Allowing movement and choice comes with a price. Teachers give up some control. Classroom noise may increase.  Classrooms are no longer neat, orderly boxes.

 

But the trade-off is worth it. No longer do students have to pen up all of their energy and enthusiasm. No longer will students have to use their intellectual capital to focus on not moving or learning only in one place. 

 

Learning increases when students do not have to sit still!