Why I Embrace Seating Charts in High School

I have lived four decades on this earth, and still, there is nothing more intimidating than that moment of walking into a room and wondering… where am I gonna sit? Throw in the changing bodies and brains of adolescents, mixed with a social media landscape rife with tension, and it is nothing short of an emotional minefield.This is why I’d like to promote the concept of the seating chart—and yes, I mean at the high school level! In my time as a teacher, instructional coach, and assistant principal, I have witnessed the value of this strategy.As author Brené Brown stresses, “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” Seating Charts Create Clarity for StudentsWhat we need to realize is that there is an implicit seating chart every day when teenagers walk into a room. A student will want to sit by their friends on the day when they’re getting along, but not when they had a fight last night. One student is wondering where their bully is going to sit and how they can avoid that without making a scen...