CHIMACUM — Changes are afoot in Mitch Brennan’s classroom.
The standard school desks will be replaced with podiums for the next school year.
Brennan — who teaches a combined class of third-, fourth- and fifth-graders at Chimacum Elementary School — said the switch will allow students to learn more naturally and in a more comfortable environment.
“We are asking why kids can’t stand still. They can, but they shouldn’t have to,” he said.
“Kids need to be moving around. How are they supposed to grow if they aren’t moving around?”
Brennan, who said he “comes up with a lot of crazy ideas,” purchased an antique dictionary and a podium for $20 at a yard sale last year and brought them into class.
He was thinking the students would get a kick out of the dictionary.
But it was the podium that captured their imaginations.
“There was this nice little girl — she was really busy and had a lot of energy, so I asked her if she wanted to stand behind the podium,” he said.
“When she did, we told her that she looked like a president.”
The rest of the 30-member class showed immediate interest, and the change was accomplished democratically.
“I chose all the wiggly kids . . . and gave them a chance to stand up, and they all liked it,” Brennan said.
“So we asked ourselves what it would take to get rid of all the chairs and tables and have class in a large, open space.”
The class began a “vision quest” to determine what it would look like and developed a design for the podiums and a new layout for the classroom.
The final plan designates the center of the room for the podiums, which will be arranged in a circle surrounded by yoga mats.
“All the students will have eye contact. They will be able to see each other all the time and won’t be looking at the back of anybody’s head,” Brennan said.
Brennan mentioned the idea to some friends at his health club and received an immediate $1,500 in donations, which covers the cost of construction.
Using discounted wood, the high school shop class cut the six pieces needed to create the podium.
They will be built in four different sizes, accommodating the height diversity in Brennan’s class.
Not all of the kids will want to stand all the time, so stools will be available for their use.
The stools will be purchased rather than constructed because of safety reasons and the fact that stools aren’t all that expensive to buy, Brennan said.
All but 12 of the 30 podiums will be built over the summer, while the remainder will be assembled by the students who will use them — those who are new to Brennan’s class — during the first week of school.
“The whole class contributed to this, so they are already involved, but I wanted the new kids to build their own podiums so they can feel like they are part of it,” Brennan said.
Brennan’s resourcefulness and collaborative instincts have impressed the administration.
“The great thing about Mitch is he gets everyone involved,” said Superintendent Craig Downs.
“It’s not like he has a great idea and goes off and does it by himself; he gets the parents and the kids all working together to build the podiums and gets people in the community to donate the materials.”
Brennan admits his idea is simple and could be copied easily, and an enterprising manufacturer could market the podiums at a profit.
“Let them steal it,” he said.
“I don’t want to be a businessman or a manufacturer; I just want to teach school. But if someone makes some money on this and wants to contribute to my classroom, that would be OK.”
Brennan plans to observe the students and collect data about their behavior.
“I’m going to gauge how much time they spend at the podium at the beginning of the year and how much time they spend at the end of the year,” he said.
“I think they’ll end up standing more, they’ll be in better shape, they’ll be less tired, they’ll be more engaged with what they’re learning and have better connections with each other.”
________
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
