Windows

If I become a teacher with my own classroom, I am making a solemn promise right here, right now.

I will let the light in through my windows.

There is a very common classroom habit right now of covering up windows.  Not with curtains or blinds to ease the bright sunlight from blinding students, but simply to get more wall space to put things up.  Now, to begin with I don't like wall clutter.  It makes my brain buzz and distracts me to no end.  But I have seen many teachers put big brown sheets of paper over windows so that they can hang more instructions and work and stuff.  Even more unsettling for me are the new giant wall sliders.  They are like big window size cork boards that slide right over the windows and cover them completely.  I have walked into a classroom and thought "oh, it's sad they have no windows here" only to realize the teacher has rolled these walls over top of them.

I will have windows.

I want the sun to stream in in all its glory.  I want the light and the warmth.  I want students to look out into the world and wonder.  I want them to gaze into the sky and dream.  I want them to be a little distracted so that I never fool myself into thinking it is better to have complete control over their minds and imaginations.  I want them to connect to things outside of my box.  I want them to have one foot in and one foot out.

I want them to love windows.