When students walk into Jenny Umland’s class, they don’t automatically go to the same seat they sat in the day before. In her classroom at Riverdale Heights Elementary School in Bettendorf, Iowa, students are allowed to sit wherever they want. Umland doesn’t assign seats. In fact, she has done away with most of the regular desks and uses beach chairs, standing desks, and rocking chairs instead.
Riverdale Heights is one of a growing number of schools that have ditched assigned seats. Many teachers say letting kids choose where to sit helps them learn how to make good choices. Some teachers point out that students are often more comfortable speaking up when they’re sitting near kids they like the most.
“If kids are happy and comfortable, they are more willing to learn,” says Umland. After 19 years of teaching, she tried non-assigned seating for the first time this year. She says she’ll never go back.
But not all teachers are ready to get rid of their seating charts. Some say having assigned seats helps students focus on their work, instead of where they’ll sit. Teachers also argue that it cuts down on distracting talk in the classroom because kids can’t choose to sit next to their friends.
