On Teaching: A Resonant Classroom

Written on April 18, 2005 A RESONANT CLASSROOM Resonate: "To evoke a feeling of shared emotion or belief. To correspond closely or harmoniously" Resonant: "Strong and deep in tone; resounding: a resonant voice. Having a lasting presence or effect; enduring. Strongly reminiscent; evocative." In an article I read over the weekend, the author stated that, when a tuning fork or stringed instrument is vibrating, nearby tuning forks or string instruments, if tuned to the same frequency, will begin to resonate or vibrate in harmony with the original device. As I read, I began musing about whether my classroom was resonant in that sense. Could my students and I be thought of as tuning forks or stringed instruments, and could our goals be getting ourselves tuned to the same frequency so we can resonate (be in harmony) together? It was an interesting picture – a classroom resounding with insight and feeling because it is filled with human learning instruments tuned to the same frequency. There are many ramifications of this idea, but one of the most fascinating is that any of the instruments can begin the vibrating. I could certainly be the tuning fork (and often am) who sets the classroom resonating with ideas, but any student could, also. If we’re all tuned to the same frequency, it doesn’t matter who “sets the tone”. We’re like the stringed instruments in an orchestra, all waiting for someone to start a string vibrating so we can all join in. As the definition above suggests, this produces wonderful harmony in the classroom, but, as the definition goes on to suggest, it also produces an enduring effect. A classroom that is resonant is one that stays in the memory – one which produces learning that lasts. Long after the students leave such a classroom, the “sounds” of the learning that occurred there reverberate in their lives. It would be beautiful to teach in such a classroom as that.