Kohn's What to Look for in a Classroom

 When reading the post “What to Look for in a Classroom” by Alfie Kohn I learned that there is more to having a successful learning environment than just a wonderful teacher. Alfie Kohn highlights the key physical factors of a classroom environment. He describes the goods signs and the possible reasons to worry about within a classroom. From this I notice a big difference between elementary, middle and high school. I remember in my elementary school my classes had almost everything Kohn lists in the good signs columns. We had furniture besides tables or desks, on the walls there were many posters from educational posters to students' work and other decorations, the teacher was never in one spot the whole day, she or he would be moving around the classroom work with larger groups, smaller groups and independently with students. As I moved on to middle and high school these physical factors were seen less and less. The teacher would stand or sit at the front of the class all day and lecture. You almost never see the students' work hanging in the hall or classroom. In every classroom there are uncomfortable desks lined up in rows. Even the teachers' demeanor changes from elementary to high school, their voices go from respectful, genuine and warm to controlling and harsh. There is a video that was created years ago that has always stuck with me. I will link it below, the video is called “I sued the school system” created by Prince Ea. In this video Prince Ea is in a courtroom where modern day schooling is on trial. He mentions many great topics about the school system and how it has not changed over the years, and how every kid is different and learns in different ways. He mentions how there are so many kids who struggle in class because of the difficult or impossible tasks given to them and they are never able to find their gifts or strengths. One part of this video that I believe really relates to Kohns reading is when he shows the court the difference between a modern day cell phone to a phone from 150 years ago, a car from today to a car from 150 years ago, there is a big difference. Then he shows a picture of a classroom from today and a classroom from 150 years ago and there is no difference. Students in a room at desks lined up in rows facing a chalkboard. It's weird how after all of these years the school system and society have not figured out how to properly teach and prepare each and every student that enters the classroom, so many students fall through the cracks because each student has different strengths and dreams but are all taught in the exact same way.

https://youtu.be/dqTTojTija8?feature=shared