Setting Up My Office, Setting a Tone

My last couple of years teaching high school I transitioned to grade conferences held in class, dumped teaching the canon, and got rid of my teacher's desk. While these may seem like totally separate events they were all connected, part of active choices on my part to better serve my students. One of the many reasons I was able to do these things was because of the people I follow on Twitter, and the exposure I got from them about better pedagogy and anti-racist teaching.

The last few years I've thought a lot about the power structures that exist in education, how they impact my students, and the harm of replicating innately white power structures does to students. Often in my Twitter feed there are voices and narratives that should be complementing each other but aren't. There are voices about how students learn, that are not interacting with the voices about how poverty, institutional racism, and trauma affect students. Or voices that challenge educators who when reporting on research about how students learn do not acknowledge that this research is how white students learn. I guess I wish all the parts of my Twitter feed spoke to each other. That K-12 teachers were listening to the college professors, that all were listening to and learning from the trauma and anti-racist work being done and shared by excellent folks.

A few months ago as I was sharing my ditch the teacher desk thoughts on Twitter I shared too what getting rid of these structures might look like at the college level. Now that I'll be teaching at the college level, I want to expand some of my thoughts, using the real world example of me setting up my campus office this past week.

So, I had a couple of clear ideas about what I wanted my office to do. I did not want my desk to be the focus. I did not want it (especially this set up) to be how students interacted with me. I did not want a desk between us, representing a power discrepancy.

So, I asked my department chair for a table, and he graciously wandered rooms with me until we found a surplus table that would work. The table is against a blank wall that I really want to make a student contribution collage thingey. It is also against a wall with multiple outlets so students can plug in laptops/phones as needed. When you open the door, this is what you see:

The conference table has pens, markers, Post-Its, paper, stapler, tape. On the wall to the right is a 4' white board that I bought and my favorite poster, Map of Manuscript Earth. I want this to be a working space, a space where students and I can collaborate and work through things together.

On the other side of the office is  my desk and shelves. There is a filing cabinet, which frankly I'm just dumping stuff in because I don't really deal with paper. The shelves are mostly empty. I think I want to have a "want one take one" reading shelf, of just cool books. On top is a board game of Miltonopoly a student made as a final project and my Paradise Lost poster. My sweatshirt has funny ducks on it. The shelf above my desk has Archie McPhee toys. On the bottom shelf are several crates- tissues with motivational sayings, granola bars, rubber ducks. I brought in my old printer, copier, scanner, because this is invaluable for lots of reasons. I am lucky to enjoy and be able to work from my home office. I don't go to coffee shops or need to go anywhere else for quiet. But I know too that I'll be spending a lot of time in my office, so I wanted my desk space to be somewhere I could work. One of the first things I did was rerun the computer cables so they were neat, and everything was in a good working space.

I have  deck of cards, and Othello in my office. This is new. I'm hoping that students who are maybe nervous about seeing a professor, for class or advising, could play and talk. We'll see. Othello is a cool ass game regardless. I have my apple cinnamon plug in just like I always had in my classroom. Students always commented on how nice my room smelled.
In the past negative comments on evaluations have included "she teaches like she's in high school." And this is valid- I scaffold more, I'm more aware of pedagogy, I am transparent in why we do the things we do. My thought process for my office was very much informed by my time teaching high school. I think these things are important.

I opened the blinds, one because I love the view and natural sunlight, but too, I like how it opens the space which is a really nice, big space already.

I tinkered with comics to put on my door, and decided to play a bit with the posting office hours and class schedule bit.

I used Google Slides because it's easier to move things around in it. Especially because I'm new, I wanted to do more than just post hours.

I'm hoping that all of these things together set a specific tone. One that is welcoming to students, comfortable. A space that breaks down some power dynamics. That values students. That gives them a space. That too, lets people know the kind of teacher I am.

For me, these conscious decisions are an extension of my classes which ask the students to see where they are in what we study. That asks them to use their own interests to explore our subject matter. That builds things with them. They're also an extension of things like not policing behavior, accommodating all students, and making my course and content accessible for all.

There will be a lot of new things this year, and a steep learning curve. Frankly, setting up my office was the last recognizable thing I've done. I don't know what it's going to be like to be a professor- what the day to day routine will be like, service, committees, advising. I know how to create a syllabus, choose readings, set up a space, but past that? Whole new, unfamiliar world. So I don't know what this semester or year will be like but I am grateful for all the lessons I've learned the last few years that make me feel secure in the kind of teacher I want to be, and how I want my students to feel.

I guess I'll figure the rest out.