Who’s in charge here?

No one has a greater interest in the quality of life in the classroom than the students. Think about it. Not only is it a matter of having the kind of day-to-day environment that is uplifting and inviting – students and teachers alike have a vested interest in that goal. But for the students it is also the forum in which they will gain knowledge and experience that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

For adults the stakes are not nearly as high. True, they share the desire for a pleasant, productive work environment. But for adults who are paid to be in the classroom, part of the job is to endure whatever unpleasant aspects of the environment need to be endured in order to accomplish the greater goal of educating the kids. The classroom should not be organized for the teacher’s convenience or pleasure. The classroom should be designed in such a way that students have the best possible opportunity to learn. The teacher’s pleasure in the environment should be an ancillary outcome, not the primary goal.

Students know better than anyone what kind of environment is conducive for their own learning. And students know what external factors act as distractions. Despite our best intentions and years of experience with our own learning, adults can only make assumptions about what will work for students. It is the students themselves who are the experts.

So let’s put that expertise to work. Let’s put students in charge of creating the classroom environment. Let’s allow those who have the most at stake to make the most important decisions about schedules and social behavior in the classroom. Let’s allow the students the freedom to learn on their own terms.

Is it possible this could work? It certainly is a nontraditional approach

But schools have traditionally been organized in a way that maximizes administrative efficiency at the expense of learning. Why not turn that formula around?

This is a serious question, and it calls for serious discussion. I want to know what you think.

What would be wrong with empowering students to make and enforce their own rules governing behavior in class, and allowing teachers simply to teach?

Am I crazy or is this the obvious solution to many of the problems with schools today?