Classroom Set-up

"Korean High School Classroom" by Schplook from flickr

So at my office hours today a student asked me the following question: "LS, what would you do if you came into class one day and the desks were all in rows? You'd totally freak out, right?"

"Well, I don't know if I'd freak out, but I'd definitely unrow those desks super fast."

"Nah. You'd totally freak out. It'd make your head explode."

I'm not sure my head would explode, but that's not the point. I appreciate that, without ever explicitly explaining why my desks will never be in rows, my students both recognize that this is just how my classroom is and also that it's important to me that they never sit in rows.