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(c)2016 Douglas W Davis
Author's Classroom at Start of Day 3
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UTW-3 was a much more physical day than either One or Two. I
tackled the easy part first, cleaning and hanging the two Self-Stick Post-it
Note Bulletin Boards I’d found. The carpenter level app I found for my smart
phone helped a lot with that. I plan to use those to highlight student work.
The next project was to clean the rolling podium-like cart that
came with the room. I’m not sure how to describe it. I should have taken a
picture. It has a hinged, angled top that can be flipped to the left or the
right. Under it is a flat area where a teacher can lay text books, a tablet or
laptop, or papers. Below the flat area, on the right side, is a deep drawer and
two open shelves. On the left is a large open area walled on three sides. My
favorite part of this cart is its mobility. I can wheel it about the room
during my lesson.
At that point I was ready to tackle the heavy stuff. I cleaned
and moved a 4-drawer filing cabinet, a large cabinet on wheels I’d like to give
away to another teacher, the two large bookcases I described yesterday, and the
smaller metal bookcase. With the help of the custodians two-wheeled hand truck
I was able to move them myself, which was a good thing as the custodians were
seriously overtasked today.
Once all those pieces were
in place it was time to begin arranging the desks and chairs. The desks the
county purchased for the classrooms in our new building are different from any
school desks I’ve ever seen. They are heart-shaped with the angle at the point
of the heart equaling 90°. The idea is to arrange the desks into groups of 4.
The problem with that arrangement is that ¼ to ½ of the students have their
back to the teacher at any given time. The solution for that is to have the
teacher constantly circulating around the classroom. |
(c)2016 Douglas W Davis
4 Heart-Shaped Desks arranged in group.
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There are 32 such desks in my classroom, allowing for 8 groups
of 4. Since my state places no upper limit on how large middle school class
sizes can be, those 32 desks may not be enough.
To go along with the 32 desks were 34 chairs. The two extra
chairs are for the two student computer stations in my classroom. I actually
have 3 student computers to share among my average of 32 students per class but
the computer desk for the third one is broken and not safe to use.
28 of the 34 chairs are new. The school had to purchase them to
replace the dozens that broke last year. These chairs are supposed to stand up
to student use. In the small print is the caveat that they are only supposed to
stand up to student use for 3 to 4 years. Last year was the third year of using
the chairs.
I have to admit I did have some fun with the chairs. They are
stackable and were stacked in stacks of 4 to 6 chairs, and the L-shaped legs
were wrapped in bubble wrap. Need I say more.
Despite the bubble-wrap distraction I did manage to get all my
desks and chairs in place. I must have done a good job because my Principal
came by and told me my room was looking good.
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(c)2016 Douglas W Davis
Author's Classroom as Principal saw it.
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I only set up one computer, the one that goes on my desk. Wonder
of wonders, it worked. Considering it is a Windows XP computer that’s been in
service with the school since 2004, it is a wonder it works at all. But it is S L
O W. The old joke about turn
your computer on and leave for a while before coming back to log in, with this
computer it is not a joke. Once you’re logged in and try to access the internet
- which is critical as all our attendance, grades, and productivity apps are cloud
based – you can measure the time it takes the apps to load with an hour-glass.
I imagine I will be utilizing my personal BYOD[i]
laptop for most of my work, as I did last year.
After 3 days, my classroom is nearly ready. By the time I leave
to go home Monday, it should be in good shape for Open House on Wednesday and
the start of school the following Monday. I hope I will be as ready as my room.
As always, I remain,
The Exhausted Educator
[i]
Bring Your Own Device – in our district each teacher is allowed to register one
personal device – a laptop, tablet, or smartphone – for use on the school
wireless network. The media coordinator inputs the password for the teacher so
the teacher cannot see it and add other devices.
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