As we get ready to begin the school year in a few weeks, teachers have returned to their classrooms to try to make them ideal for students. I’ve noticed a lot of pictures of teachers trying to design the perfect classroom, making sure that everything is in its place, and that they look picturesque before students walk through the door.
This is my chance to remind everyone that our classrooms are not intended to be perfect, won’t be perfect, and should not be perfect. Our classrooms should be designed to be perfectly imperfect. Let the kids have a say. Give them a choice in what the classroom looks and feels like. Don’t hold students (and yourself) to an impossible standard that you won’t reach.
Don’t try to be perfect. Let learning happen.
Let it all be perfectly imperfect.
Rich