On Teaching: "Space in the Classroom"

I’m always aware of the “things” in my classroom – the pencils, the books, the lesson plans, the students – but I’m not often aware of the space between these things. I’m far more attentive to the objects in my classroom than the openings between the objects. I busy myself with manipulating goals, objectives, strategies, and kids, and consequently am oblivious to the areas in my classroom (and they are vast) where there is absolutely nothing to be manipulated – only empty space and stillness. I’m like the average person who is awed by the appearance of the stars in the night sky, but is unmindful of the astonishing spaces between them. And where is the empty space, the stillness, in my classroom? For starters, it’s wherever there is silence – which is exactly why I don’t notice it much. With the incessant activity in my classroom, there is almost no silence, and therefore no stillness, and therefore no sense of empty space. The world must seem terribly crowded to my students when they are in my room, as if they are hemmed in by countless “things” that are demanding their attention. There’s no “breathing room” in my classroom – no empty space in which to be silent, to stretch, to feel the peace and freedom that is essential to a happy life. Perhaps I can begin to give my students more of this “space” when they are in my English class. Perhaps I can allow some gaps of stillness to occur now and then – gaps in which the students can feel that just being is as important as doing. Perhaps I can step back more often and simply allow my students to be their peaceful and perfectly beautiful selves. Perhaps in Room 2 we can all be travelers, not through outer space, but through inner space.