Classroom setup. ? About kids sitting at desks

[Anonymous]

I went to school in the dark ages where kids sat at desks even in K. My kid attends a charter and they don't have desks. Most instruction is in small groups of 5/6 kids sitting at a table with a teacher. They also sit as a class on the carpet with a teacher sitting in front. This sounds stupid but is this the "norm" for elementary schools nowadays? I prefer the current small group method over what I had but am curious. Also, do kids sit at desks in middle or high school?

[Anonymous]

This indicates child-centered teaching. Totally the norm for the more progressive schools. Only traditional and test-prep schools like KIPP have kids sitting at desks when they are 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This indicates child-centered teaching. Totally the norm for the more progressive schools. Only traditional and test-prep schools like KIPP have kids sitting at desks when they are 5.

KIPP does not have kids sitting at desk when they are 5.

[Anonymous]

Public elementary school parent here: Yes, I'd say that's the norm. My child, now in upper elementary, still spends a lot of time on the carpet, on bean bags, and at various tables etc. Our school does have tables but they take up barely half of the classroom and are usually arranged in clusters.
I think the big divides opens up in middle school. Schools like Basis explicitly advocate against that kind of (student-centered) model taking over middle school and place the desk again at the center of the classroom. Schools like Cap City or Two Rivers do the opposite, they advocate for it. I've checked out a few middle school renovations and see that tablet chairs (the kind students sit at all looking to the front and taking notes, where presumably the teacher lectures) are systematically replaced by modular tables (triangular or woven), which can be placed in different ways to allow for student centered work also in middle school. So, yes, that's also becoming the norm in middle school with some exceptions as mentioned earlier and by other posters. I don't know much about high schools but can say that this is becoming the norm at universities.

[Anonymous]

At my kid's third grade in DCPS, they sit at tables with pockets hanging from the backs. They still have circle time, and they switch places/tables every once in a while. They don't have lockers, just cubbies.

[Anonymous]

When I toured my child's DCPS elementary school I was stunned and amazed at the lack of desks, children sitting on rugs, or sitting in small groups around a table, etc. But the school has a great reputation and they have enjoyed learning.