Meanwhile, in the classroom...

My whole classroom life can be summed up in two words:  Sardine Can.

From Grade School to College, I can clearly remember how at awe I was knowing that there were 40 to 45 of us jampacked into one tiny classroom hour after hour.  It was a convenient arrangement.  I remember how there was virtually no space between each desk, thus, making cheating a happy piece of cake.  I also remember how going to the bathroom in the middle of class meant begging other kids to stand up to pave a way for your nature call --which they can make difficult for you and your poor little bladder.

Alas, those were the days.  Nowadays, there are more flexible seating styles.  Like the one in my boys' school.  Their school champions individualized learning.  And they couldn't have made that more clear with their uber unique Learning Center Offices.

These 'offices' are the students' personal cubicles.  Kinda like the ones you have at work.  Except they're a little smaller, don't have an old moody PC on it, and a bunch of rants against the boss written on Post-Its stuck to the wall.

Functionally, these offices allow each student to work at his own pace, without being pressured to compete with the performance of his peers.  Aside from a more comfortable leg room, it also gives him the drive to rely on himself than on the age-old classroom tradition of cheating.
On a personal development note, having an office to himself teaches a student independence, responsibility, and respect for others.  Since my older boy keeps his office spic-and-span, he's applying the very same neat streak to his bedroom, too.  Yay! :)

Being 'self'-owned, the office also empowers a student with some kind of freedom.
Which, unfortunately, some kids (read: my youngest son) might just over-enjoy.  Oh, boy.

The ups and downs of classroom seating space.  What style is your child's school sitting on?