Chapter 2: Minds at Work

Chapter two of The Third Teacher, makes the point that the space students learn in need just as much attention as what students learn.   Many classrooms today do not allow for creative thinking of students nor should students be learning in classrooms that force students to learn only one way.  In this chapter it states, “free teachers from the traditional desk at the front of the classroom and encourage new settings for teaching and learning” (59).  Students do not all learn the same way, so chapter 2 also addresses why do we still not allow students to learn in different ways.  In one section the book tells the story of Gillian Lynne, she is a famous choreographer.  As a child she was thought to have problems because she would not sit still, until a doctor discovered she was creative and just liked to move.  So why do we continue to force students to sit still all day when many students cannot focus in this environment.  We learn of some schools that have addressed this issue and have found more interactive ways for students to learn.  One school is Henry Ford Academy.  This school is literally in a museum where students are able to interact with different parts of the museum.

“Diversity of learning spaces allows students to learn based on individual strengths” (72).  A remarkable country that is trying to create better learning environments is in the Cayman Islands.  The schools allow for plenty of group study spaces that allow in natural light, which is suggested to help learning (27).  This school shows what every child should have access to in the building where they are supposed to learn.  This chapter shows the importance of designing a room that the students feel comfortable in because students have different thoughts than adults. Students need to feel good about where they are learning, the thoughts of a student in Germany, “we want our school to feel more like home-safe, colorful, with lots of natural light: (74).