Question: Do Seating Charts Promote Good Behavior?

At only 25, high school doesn’t seem that long ago to me. It seems like just yesterday I was wondering my way from class to class carrying nearly all my books in a vain attempt to avoid my locker. There were some classes I liked more than others, and more often than not, the subject matter didn’t really make a big difference in likability. For me, it was the teacher and the environment that I was asked to learn in. More specifically, it came down to this: did I get to sit where I want with who I wanted?

Fast forward nearly a decade and I now have a differing view on seating charts. As a student, I loathed them. I felt they had no place in this world and considered them a futile attempt to get us to be quiet. However, for the honors classes that I was part of, they worked.

So how do I feel about them as an educator? Do seating charts really assist in getting students to simply be quiet and pay attention? Let’s explore the possibilities.

A quick Google search of the topic certainly brings up some results. According to an article written on leesonplansinc.com, “Seating charts are one of the best preventative measures a teacher can use. Sitting a talkative student next to a shy student might limit disruptions.” Is this true? Sure it is. There are definitely talkers in classrooms that will benefit from sitting next to a quiet student. This scenario has me think of the social butterfly kind of student. You know the ones. They’re the students who will gossip with their BFF for an hour straight, but never gets into any other kind of trouble. Therefore, yes, I think these students benefit from a seating chart.

But when do they fail?

Suddenly I’m drawn back to 7^th grade. I’ll never forget the seating charts we had that year. There were a number of students who forced the teacher to pick their poison. Sit them close to their friend and they’re going to talk the whole period. Sit them away from their friend and they’re going to say hello by throwing a paper wad or small piece of pencil at their friend’s head. Therefore, is a seating chart productive for rebellious students who constantly disrupt class?

The obvious answer is yes. Create a seating chart then send those unruly students to the principal’s office for punishment. If they’re causing that many problems, they shouldn’t be in there in a first place. While I couldn’t agree more, there are a number of issues that cause this to not be so simple, and for the most part, they boil down to school’s ability to handle unruly students.

Funding issues across the country has some schools pulling their alternative school programs in favor of keeping traditional classroom teachers on salary. Yes, I have taught at a school with no alternative program. Have a student that’s causing you great distress? Deal with it, because you have him/her for that period and there’s nowhere else for them to go.

Of course, this issue goes beyond simple seating chart logic; however, it’s a very concerning issue for teaching trying to get their students to behave in class and adhere to a seating chart. Do I sit them next to their friend and deal with the muttering all period or separate them and instead listen to them scream and throw things?

Ultimately, seating chart effectiveness depends on three things: the students, the teachers, and the administration.

As said before, some students will benefit greatly from a seating chart; however, the teacher’s ability to enforce classroom rules will have a tremendous effect on the classroom as a whole. If a teacher lacks the ability to control their class, seating charts are useless. As for the occasional student who causes nightmares for teachers across the board, just hope your administration has the ability to enforce their own rules, and in rare cases, pull students out of situations where they are damaging the educational process for all.

With that being said, I would love to hear your thoughts on seating charts. Do you use them? If so, how do they work for you?