After 28 years of teaching, I decided I needed a change. During the summer of 1992, with the encouragement of our principal, Kathy Lynch, I spent several days in my 4th grade classroom at Columbus School building a lofty learning center. The result of my labor now enhances our third-floor room, taking up a large chunk of real estate in the relatively small space (approximately 700 square feet). The upper level of the eight-foot structure has enough space and plenty of support for six children. Fortunately, our 11-foot ceiling allows for plenty of headroom.
I finished the loft long before school opened, so I had plenty of time to plan. Even though we couldn't use the loft area until the superintendent approved it, I was ready to share the puppet theater with the children. When the children arrived, I listened expectantly; not a word was said about the loft. In my excitement, I had forgotten that the children would be focused on their new teacher. At first, I was disappointed, but one youngster and his twin brothers saved the moment for me. Cory entered the room with his brothers at his heels.
“Wow! What's that?”
Without hesitation, Cory and the twins launched an assault on the loft and tried to scale the front wall. I was glad I hadn't installed the ladder yet. I plucked the boys from the loft and sent them to their seats.
“That's really neat!” Cory shouted.
“Thanks, Cory. We should have fun with it, but not right now,” I replied.
“Can we go up, Mr. George?” Jeff asked.
“No, we can't go up yet. We have to talk about it and make up rules for using the loft.” I explained that we had to proceed with caution because the loft area had not been approved yet. Because there were no other lofts in the Rome, New York, schools, this was a test of sorts, and being a pioneer was going to be exciting.
The Sky's the Limit
The loft was finally approved in early November. We planned carefully, but we had to set the rules and think of the best uses for the loft in order to justify the project. I was confident that it would serve us well, but I wasn't sure how. It was up to the children to develop the bulk of the ideas by brainstorming in groups.
- Four at a time in the loft and puppet theater (experience has proven this to be the most workable number).
- No throwing things from the loft (except in science or math experiments when testing theories).
- No leaning over the railing.
- One at a time on the ladder. The person coming down must wait at the bottom to help the next person.
- Four people per day will use the loft on a rotating basis so that it is shared equally by all.
- Failure to adhere to rules means loss of the privileges.
I opened another brainstorming session by asking: “Who has some ideas for how we should use the loft and puppet theater?” “We can sleep up there.” (That's happened more than once.)“I think it would be good for playing games.” (Quiet ones.)“I'd like to use it to do my homework.” (Then it wouldn't be homework.)“Can we use it as a fort?” (Reenact the siege of Ft. Stanwix.)“How about as a prison when somebody is bad?” (I hadn't thought of that.)“Can we just sit up there and think?” (One of my favorite things to do.)“How about for a place to listen to music?” (Mr. Allen, our music teacher, likes that one.)“It could be a time-out space.” (I have used it often.)“A reading corner.” (All the time!)“Mr. George can teach from up there.” (I have many times and enjoyed it immensely.)“I think it would be a great place to write and share without being bothered.” (It is.) Discovering uses for the loft was not a problem—sorting out the most practical ones was.
A Sense of Freedom
The loft's uses seemed to evolve out of need and opportunity as we became more familiar with it. The obvious ones were put into effect immediately: reading/writing nook, small group work area, and time-out space.
One of the most enjoyable uses for the loft is as a place to present poems and jokes after lunch. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we assign a poet and a joker to present to the class. One of our poets suggested that he would like to present from the loft, where he would have a unique view of the audience. From that day on our poets and jokers have used the loft. After observing children in the loft for several years, I am convinced that the elevated position creates newfound freedom. Some of the most reluctant readers and presenters have taken to the “higher-level” learning and become more expressive and confident in their abilities. If the loft served no other purpose, it would have been worth the effort for this benefit alone.
But the loft has served many other purposes. It has become a mini-library; a private conference space; a test make-up area where children may work undisturbed; and a staging area for Christmas plays, skits of all kinds, social studies and science demonstrations, speeches, and puppet shows. Using the loft has enhanced the students' creativity and given them the freedom to take risks.
The loft is a learning center with more possibilities emerging daily. I have added book racks to the front, side, and back walls to display our collection of magazines and poetry and joke books. We hang maps from the loft and display the children's work. There are six large hooks mounted on the side of the lower level so the children can hang their backpacks instead of tripping over them on the floor. At times we hang our movie screen from the loft so we can use the overhead projector at a different angle.
Almost three years into its existence, the loft has helped the children improve their sense of responsibility and their ability to work together. The children are excited about using the space, and the sense of freedom they feel from interacting with the class from the loft has helped enhance their self-esteem. The loft has become a place that the children look forward to sharing.
Our experiment has been positive, and our learning can only reach higher and higher levels. We are only limited by our lack of imagination and willingness to take risks. I wonder if we can go beyond the ceiling?
