The Happiest Place in School: A Student-Centered Classroom

Much like "The happiest place on Earth" adage for Disneyland it is more then just a saying, its an experience, an energy you feel as soon as you are in the parking lot. The anticipation, the excitement, the sound of laughter and joy. As a child, I lived in many places but the majority of my young adulthood, I lived a half an hour from the "happiest place on Earth." I had a yearly pass, visiting it as much as possible. The Disney vibe was very much integrated into my psyche. I knew very early on that when I became a teacher that the feeling of discovery and adventure found at this theme park, was what I wanted my classroom to be, "The happiest place in school, an interactive, engaging, student-centered atmosphere where most lessons were "rides" of inquiry and each unit was a land of enchantment. A flexible, challenging, interactive community based on interest and choice not traditional handouts, note-taking and homework. A blend of technology and hands-on learning with a makerspace, standing desks, active sitting and collaboration. All the qualities that make Disneyland memorable and personal to every visitor young and old alike. The memory of a magical place that still resonates in all of us. This amusement park aura being merged with a classroom of learning. Thus a student-centered design for me was born.

When you enter a Disney park you have a sense of wonderment and suspense. Not to mention, a feeling of where do I begin? A quick glance at the colorful map shows you the myriad of destinations just waiting for you to partake on. Flexible seating provides this sense of adventure letting students be mobile and active lets them use the "map" to their advantage. It takes self-discipline, modeling and sometimes redirection but in my classroom they stay the course most of the time and their resilience to sudden change or distraction, pliability and plasticity allows them to be open to new ideas, innovate, take-risks, and collaborate in a respectful and energetic way.

It is a very personal journey, learning. It needs to offer thrill and interest but also safety and relationships that help guide you through the carnival of knowledge. In my classroom the best expedition I embark on with my students are one-minute check-in's. Each week every student sits down with me for 1 minute to simply talk science, ask questions, and for us to get to know one another better. This is the foundation of our classroom amusement park- relationships. In Disneyland, costumed characters and guides in themed dress are there to help at every turn. This helps create a sense of security. Visitors can roam freely knowing they will never get lost in the hustle and bustle, maze like framework of the grounds. The joyride becomes more natural and memorable when the focus is on learning and having fun and not grades and assessment. A student-centered classroom needs to be designed around growth, providing endless ways to demonstrate knowledge and experience into the curriculum. Build, tinker, write, draw, sing, read-aloud, any option welcomed.

Having strong relationships between guest and Disney cast member creates respect and cooperation. In my classroom students work together every day through collaborative assignments and by setting up support systems where every student feels a part of the journey. Even the most reluctant learner needs to feel inspired to ride the roller coaster as well as the tea-cups and the log ride. Each bringing a different commotion and challenge but all bringing a new memory and new information into the fold. A student-classroom should not be a place built on speeches or lectures given by the teacher, but a neighborhood, residence, hangout that students operate and secure. Lessons should not be handed to them but ideas and concepts presented to them in order for them to create and design the rides, whether slow like "Pirates of the Caribbean" or mysterious like "The Haunted Mansion" it should be their choice which to participate in. If it is fast-paced and challenging like "Space-Mountain" or "The Matterhorn" let them set the speed and how fast they take the turns. This puts them in the drivers seat, which is where they want to be. The more input students have in writing, sharing, and implementing lessons in the classroom the more thrilling and interactive the classroom will become.

My favorite way to allow students to take the lead is community assessments. Sitting on a ride, quiet, afraid to experience the sensation and titillation is an awful feeling. Being afraid to get on the ride in the first place is even more awful. So how do we get the fearful, distracted, reluctant learners to buckle in for the spin? Rather than focus on individual grades, a multiple-choice quiz, a short-answer test, I try as much as possible (I am still bound by common assessments) to have community appraisals or observations. Not placing a grade per se but recognizing where their strengths and weaknesses are as much as my own. Where did the lesson go a miss? Much like the Disney Electrical Light Parade, a conglomeration of cooperation, brightness and clarity, spinning figures, magical music, and absolute engagement. Visitors line the streets, after-dark to experience the festive, interaction of sight, sound and mesmerizing detail. In my classroom, students have Edcamps where each table shares with the class their favorite aspect of the unit, or students line up and recount vocabulary (each a different term) and as the discussion progresses they make connections between the vocabulary until at the end the "Big Picture" has been formed. Group assessments are much more meaningful because it lacks judgment or evaluation merely connection and surveillance. They not only learn from each other but they find the confidence in themselves to share and collaborate with their peers.

Then the fireworks occur, drawing the day to a close. Eyes up to the sky watching the colors blend and fade. In my classroom tickets-out-the door are often verbal and interactive bringing illumination and conclusion to the days events. What bursts of knowledge did you gain today? Were there firecrackers, making distractions in your path? How can we lessen the distractions tomorrow? What was the most thrilling or magical idea you came up with today? Was this innovation personal or constructed through cooperation and interaction with your peers? I always have them talk it out and then use their journals to reflect. Mindful reflection brings the experience to a close- it helps solidify, synthesize, and bring synergy and harmony to both the new information and bigger connections they discovered during class. At the end of the day, leaving Disneyland, tired feet, exhausted, every child still has a little energy left to visit the gift stores lining Main Street. In a student-centered classroom these gifts are often the laughter and smiles on their faces as they know they learned something new. It is not the material aspects of life that mean the most but the often subtle assimilation of new knowledge because then it was not learning but playing. It was not work but fun. It was not compliance but independence and choice that ultimately we remember as we fall asleep in the car on our way home.