The One About A Desk

My desk.  And an excuse to play with the panoramic feature on my iPhone!

Do you have a desk?  A table?  A landing spot?  I have to personally.  I know a lot of people are anti-desk, stating that a teacher should be up and about and around the classroom at all times.  Well, me (and my feet) slightly disagree with that notion.  See, I need a landing spot.  See how I italiscized that?  To stress the need.  A place to put my stuff.  A place to grade.  A place to organize, gather, sit, collect, hold, etc.  I think you get the picture.  

Now, I don't sit there all day.  I am up and about most of the time.  But if I am using the ELMO or grading or working one-on-one with a student, I'll be there.  That and, of course, on breaks.  See, you agree now don't you.  I'm sure most of you have a similar spot somewhere.  Mine is a table and student desk put together in an L-shape in the front of the room.  The location is crucial as my laptop must be connected to the ELMO and the SMART Board, both of which are in the front of the room.  See, yet another important need for a desk.  So, it's not a desk per say, but you get the picture.

I've had a lot of difference set ups over the year.  There was the ginormous (I kid you not) 6 foot by 4 foot metal monstrosity I had at one school.  It was huge!  But I loved it.  Do you know how many piles of stuff neatly organized stacks you can create on a desk that size?  I've also had a smaller wooden number, basic but it got the job done, a simple computer desk, and another art class-type table.  I have to admit, the ginormous beast aside, my latest arrangement is my favorite.  I'm a fan of the L-shape.  

I wish I could say that I was the most organized teacher out there.  Like some of the great blogs I follow.  But I don't like to lie.  Now, I'm not a mess, exactly.  I like to think of it as organized chaos.  Yeah, that's probably a good description.  But, I'll have you know, I know exactly where everything is and there is a method to my madness.  You know how it is.  You're busy.  There isn't always time to put it away neatly where you found it (despite the fact that you tell the kids that about every game, manipulative, and project they get into).  Sometimes you just need to put it down somewhere.   

There are times though, that it even gets to me and I must purge and reorganize.  With the Christmas season upon us I'm quickly getting there.  So, I've bared my soul, and desk here to you.  I hope you don't think less of me as a person or teacher.  I'm sure everyone has their dirty little classroom secret.  Like my closet, but that's a topic for another post!

So, what about you?  Desk?  No desk?  Everything neatly organized and aligned or creative piles?  I promise I won't judge you either!  It takes all kinds though!  :)