justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

Open seating

I fly on Southwest Airlines several times a year. When boarding, I’m informed that there’s an “open seating” policy, where I’m free to select any seat I wish on the plane.

Earlier this school year, I was pleasantly surprised to see this “open seating” policy being used in a fifth-grade class I was teaching. Students were allowed to select their seat from a wide variety of choices, including eight large pillows on the floor, a large comfy couch, six stools, two recliners, a carpet with six small reclining seats, two tables with six classroom chairs, and four desks. Students were divided into five groups, and each group had their first choice of where to sit based on the day of the week.

It took just a few minutes for me to adjust my teaching and classroom management style to this innovative arrangement, but I soon got the hang of it and the day proceeded extremely well.

I’ve since substituted in a second-grade classroom that had a similar configuration, complete with posters on the walls describing the options in their “Flexible Seating” policy. The posters also defined the behavior expected with each choice.

I really like these options, and wish I had thought of them when I was teaching full-time many years ago.

I believe it will work for selected teachers as they instill a sense of trust in the students, to monitor their behavior accordingly to continue the use of this privilege.

I love it!