Do you have a teacher desk?
I have vivid memories of my primary school teachers sitting in their desks while we wrote in journals or did Silent Sustained Reading time. Anyone else?
As a first year teacher, I thought that I needed a teacher desk. It seemed pretty standard to me. My room did not have a desk, but my neighbor teacher thought that was crazy and helped me figure out how to get one from maintenance. Seemed legit to me!
But the very next year, I was begging that same sweet maintenance man to remove the desk from my room. I got rid of my teacher desk and never missed missed it one bit. You can see pictures of my “deskless” classroom HERE.
Let me tell you why I got rid of my teacher desk and you should too!
A lot of teachers think that they need a desk because it will help them to keep the endless papers organized. But if you are being really honest with yourself, is your desk organized? Or is it just the place that you store the piles of papers that you might get to someday? Where would those papers be if you didn’t have a desk? You would be forced to take care of them! I know that is scary, but it really is a stress reliever!
Being organized is tricky! Teaching requires so much paperwork and so many supplies. But the truth is that if you have a very limited amount of space for these papers- you will be forced to take care of them sooner. You will be forced to be more organized. You have no choice!!!
Instead of desk drawers that are stuffed with random office supplies, I organized all of mine in a toolbox. You can read more about how I put this toolbox together HERE. I also hung cups on the wall for my pens and pencils. It was unused space before and now students can’t reach my Flair pens. 😉
Instead of a desk covered in papers that need my attention, I use a teacher binder and this dish tub. If it doesn’t fit in the tub, then I need to spend some time on the paperwork. It takes up very little space, is portable and forces me to keep on top of tasks rather than letting them sit on the desk.
I NEED things to be super organized and I have found a way to do this without a teacher desk. You can read more about how I organize my classroom by clicking on the picture below.
“Mrs. Sears! Come sit! You know you’re tired. Your feet hurt. You deserve a break. Sit!” Does your teacher desk call to you like mine did? Sometimes I would sit at my desk during snack break or while my students were silently working. I didn’t sit all day, but I did sit at the desk from time to time during the day.
I hate this meme because of the alcohol bottle, but the saying couldn’t be more accurate, so I had to share.
Where is your computer?
How can not having a teacher desk work for a high school teacher? I don’t have tables for small group instruction. Plus where do you have your computer. I receive so many communications from students via email that I don’t think I would be efficient if I didn’t have a desk during my 45 minute planning period.
I think it is unwise to not have a teacher desk space but whatever works for you.
I completely agree! A teacher’s desk isn’t wasted space. If students need dedicated space to do their work and keep their stuff, why wouldn’t the teacher?
Interesting you should say that…I came to this post after a search for “desk-free classrooms” wondering if people had run classrooms with no desks at all! So you could take it either way, I guess.
I think you’ve organized your space wonderfully and the lack of a teacher desk makes perfect sense. I find I usually go to my small group table to plan anyway because it’s always cleared off, so ditching the desk and using organized storage is the solution I’m moving to. Thanks for the inspiration!
I have had a teacher’s desk in my classroom for the last 5 years and have not sat at it once! I saw your article headline and had to read it. I have my computer set up with my Elmo and projector on a podium and that’s where I am most of the day so why do I keep this darn desk that does nothing but take up space?! This year, I’m making the plunge, I am going to ask our maintenance man to remove mine when we start back! Great article!
I’ll play the devil’s advocate here. It is okay to sit and work at a desk when students are independently working – for all grade levels. Students need to be able to figure out problems on their own without us cruising the room or hovering. When my students are reading at the beginning of each class, I am too…or taking attendance and answering quick emails. There’s nothing wrong in having a dedicated workspace – that contributes to student success.