SchoolArts - April 2012

POINT OF VIEW
The Line That Must Not Be Crossed

Stacy Lord

I’m a firm believer in personal space and the need for teachers to maintain control over it within the classroom. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed with students coming up to you asking for help, especially in the artroom.

Personal space is that invisible bubble around us, which makes up our comfort zone—a zone that is often chipped away at by our students.

I realize some of this behavior
is cultural and some is learned, but
much of what I see is:
(a) students’ general disregard for
authority, and
(b) teachers who don’t set clear bound-
aries.

When do we see these boundaries blurred? When you see students sitting at the teacher’s desk, riffling through papers, and going through their “personal” items. When you see teachers “chumming” with their students, friending them on social networking sites, and joking with them on a level that is inappropriate. When that line is blurred, so is the respect for the teacher.

Blurring the Line When a teacher comes down to a student’s level, it sends a message that you, the teacher, do not have to be taken seriously. It lessens your authority and you often end up losing integrity in the eyes of your students. As a result, controlling classroom behavior becomes more difficult, and reining in respect becomes nearly impossible.

A Little Breathing Room

The yellow line sections off a small portion of my room from students.

It is a space where I can keep things
safe and out of students’ reach, while
reinforcing the boundaries that mark
my personal space,
allowing me
breathing room.

The most important message the yellow line communicates is respect for me.

Yes, everything
within my room
comes down to
respect. Which goes back to the large
sign hanging over my door, which
reads, “Give respect, get respect.” The
yellow line is a nonverbal reminder to
students, telling them that, as much
fun as we may have in my classroom,
I am still the teacher.
One way I maintain respect
in my classroom without
being too authoritative, and
which still allows me to joke
around with my students, is
by painting a simple
yellow line on the floor
around my desk.

No Crossing the Yellow Line One way I maintain respect in my classroom without being too authoritative, and which still allows me to joke around with my students, is by painting a simple yellow line on the floor around my desk. Why yellow? Because yellow signifies caution and is associated with traffic signs. In a sense, the line controls the traffic to and around my desk.