Flexible Seating and Why It Works

“We believe that children learn best when they are free to move their bodies throughout the day. Children have physical rights. They should not be constrained to desks.

They should be allowed to move around in their environment, visit the bathroom as often as they like, and work in a variety of sitting or standing positions. We want to teach our children to respect their bodies and control their movements, and by allowing this freedom, we feel that this helps the growing brain learn more effectively.” (Montessori’s Philosophy)

I was doing a storytelling workshop at our 3rd Education Summer Retreat in Lefkada and I asked my teachers/ trainees to write a story based on some prompts. We were in a big conference room. Some sat on the floor, turning their back to the rest of us, one lay on the floor and did group work with 2 others, some sat on chairs sitting in an upright position, some made mini circles, interacted and then wrote their story, one was standing writing on a flipchart. Same thing happens in my classrooms with children all the time. I might be telling them a story, asking them to complete a worksheet, doing creative writing tasks or anything else and they always choose different seating positions.

Now I know there are several approaches to classroom seating arrangements, ranging from the rigid old-school arrangement with rows of desks facing the front of the classroom, to U-shape or horseshoe seating arrangements or even, having students sit on yoga balls, but my experience has shown me that the best seating arrangement is the one that offers freedom to the students to choose their favorite seating. Some students might choose to sit at their desk, some under their desk, some on the floor, some on a yoga ball, some might want to read and write standing up. What I’ve observed is that learners somehow know how they learn better, how they feel more comfortable, how they concentrate more. When we give them the freedom to choose their posture and way of seating, we give them the freedom to learn better.

This of course might not be possible at all times. Sometimes, when I tell a story, I might want my students in a circle; or I might want them in groups (some standing, some sitting, some moving around etc- see the storytelling activity on the The Two Wolves in the Glossobook ‘Once Upon A Time’. Sometimes, the teacher will have to tell students how to sit, depending on the purposes of the lesson at this specific point. But there should always be a slot in each lesson where students can choose how to sit; ideally, for the greater part of the lesson, the students should have this choice.

So when planning the new school year, take into consideration the concept of flexible seating and let’s try to organize our classrooms in ways that give students choice and voice. After all, this is not about the seating only; it’s about a whole educational philosophy based on learner emancipation.

Flexible seating is about flexible mindsets.