A Fish Bowl

One of the ways I insure I will be happy to go to work each day is by creating an inviting, attractive classroom in which to teach. Clean and tidy, bright and spacious, uncluttered and comforting are qualities I strive to maintain in my class space. I also find it soothes the students to keep things 'status quo'; it can be upsetting to certain students when changes in lay-out, furniture placement and focus points are altered.

BUT! Sometimes discomfort is a necessary aspect of classroom management.

Years ago I learned a great behavior modification technique for student behavior from the most unlikely source years. I was at a pet store, holding a baggy with the remains of an expensive fish, and asking for help at the aquarium station. I explained to the employee of the pet store that every time I introduced a new fish into the tank at home, the current tank residents set upon it, attaching and molesting it - to death. What could be done, I asked. This is the advice I received in a brochure.

"Rearrange decorations in the aquarium before the introduction to distract existing fish and remove established territories. This will help the new fish by putting it on equal ground as new territories are developed by all tank-mates."

I bought a new fish, took it home, rearranged the heck out of my aquarium, put the new fish in .... and, no problem. All the fish swam about, checking out their 'new' digs, and existing in perfect harmony.

TA DA!!

A few months later, I was told by the office staff a new student was being enrolled in my class. It was late in the year, and the rest of my students had been together for months, establishing their turf and pecking order. My heart sank. I knew the new addition would disrupt the class dynamics and create tension. I also was pretty sure the new student would be uncomfortable, nervous and most of all picked on by their peers. While I never saw a new student literally bit, as a new fish in an aquarium would be, I had witnessed students chewing up the newcomer's self-esteem and gnawing on their self-doubts.

Why not? I stayed late after school that day and rearranged the room. I moved the teacher's desk, the plants, the music center, the reading area and the bulletin board. I changed the seating chart. I even put new music on the CD player. The next morning all the students filed in. It was a brand new class for one, and a different class for the rest. The day went, well, swimmingly!

I swear, it worked! No assimilation problem day one. I have kept at this practice for over a decade, and it always yields positive results. It keeps the 'old' fish just unsettled enough to let the 'new' fish catch up.

Who knew?