There's a chance that my classroom will be changed. I asked about that, but did not get a definite answer. Hence, I hate to dedicate lots of time and energy towards this since I will likely have to move everything if my room does change. Also there's little support for new and better furniture to support the new classroom needs. So what's a teacher to do?
On my next big energy day, I'll renovate the room once again in the following ways:
- Clean out an old cabinet I have to make it a science lab cabinet.
- Organize the materials in the ways I use those materials.
- Order six similar rolling cabinets--there seems to be money for this, and I believe this will support the daily math teaching/learning well as I can roll the carts filled with related lab materials to each science station in the room.
- Write a grant to support a better set-up for a fifth grade science/math lab. I'll do the research and forward this grant to multiple sources.
I'll likely do this work during one of the vacation days as I truly need a big day of big energy to do this. Every time the curriculum changes, it requires renovation of classrooms in order to make space for the supplies and set-up that supports that learning.
Teachers at high school and middle schools generally have rooms that meet the needs of specific types of learning. Middle school and high school science labs have sinks, storage, and tables to support lab work while elementary schools have to morph and change their environments to better meet this need. This is a challenge that elementary school teachers face.
