By Gwenny Kovachik-MacNeil
I began the 2024 school year in a classroom with eighteen standard desks. Today, I have none. This isn’t a lament about budgetary constraints or overcrowded classrooms; it’s a deliberate choice.
I have long believed that comfort and mobility play a significant role in learning. I teach a merry band of neurodiverse learners, much like myself, and I endeavour to tailor an environment that allows them to move, interact, and explore ideas in a way that best suits their needs and learning styles. Their ability to adjust their seating (and they do—they hop between couches and the standing desk frequently), collaborate in different places, and interact with the material on their terms has yielded increased engagement.
Gwenny Kovachik-MacNeil is an educator, researcher, and PhD candidate focusing on the intersections of Yukon First Nation education and Westernized schooling. She has experience across Canada’s three territories and is passionate about decolonizing education and amplifying youth voices. Currently, she is teaching in Whitehorse, YT, and every day she wakes up amped to work with some of the most interesting teens in the world.
