My classroom

I stumbled across Krissy Venosdale's post "When you have Nothing to Blog About," and was inspired to just write about the mundane.  So, here's my current classroom.

It has a lot of white space.  With an online class, I spend a lot of time at my desk, so a colleague inspired me to put up some of the faces I love seeing around my desk.  I also put up some posters about art to go along with the Humanities class I teach in this room.  By taking this photo, I've just now realized the poster that was on the left side of the Starboard has fallen down and disappeared....

This is the vantage point from my desk.  I have no windows, so my students know well that I've had windows to paradise installed.  Even on the grayest of days, we get to look out the window to a beautiful sunny day.  I really like the maroon walls and cabinets!

Here you can see more art posters, and what looks like a mess on the back cabinet.  This is a series of Humanities projects, actually.  First, on the first day of class, students were to create art.  Nearly all of them worked with modeling clay, and they stay on display for the whole semester.  Also back there is a great quote from Dr. Seuss, "You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself any direction you choose."

On the cabinets is another Humanities project.  Students were to bring a piece of art they felt represented them.

It's clear that I need to put some more on the walls to better reflect the OTHER class that happens here.  There's no way of knowing from the physical space that Economics is learned in this room.

As far as the pods go, it works great in my Economics class, which only has six students.  They collaborate well and are pretty motivated.  In my larger Humanities class, however, it hasn't quite worked the way I'd hoped.  I wanted the chairs whose backs are to us in the last picture to sit on the sides, however, the students have moved the chairs so that they face the back of the room and the custodians leave those chairs there every night.  If I am scheduled to be in this classroom again, I hope to figure out a better room design given the space confines.

Suggestions welcome and appreciated!