Proximity and Mobility

One of the many good things about being a teacher is that you're not always stuck behind a desk. In order to be a good teacher, you need to be able to move about the classroom and be close to the students. Teachers who move about the room are better able to interact and monitor students. This ensures the teacher that students are on task and not goofing off. When a teacher moves about the room it sends a message to the students. It tells the students that the teacher is there for them if they have questions, it tells them not to goof off because you’re being watched, and that the teacher is in charge. By utilizing proximity and mobility, teachers can control and eliminate behavior problems before they begin or elevate. Jones calls this “working the crowd” (2007, p.21). Jones also states that “either you work the crowd or the crowd works you” (2007, p.22). Jones also uses another term when he writes about working the crowd, zones of proximity.

Zones of Proximity

The zones of proximity refer to how close a teacher is to the students and, depending on the distance, how much goofing off a student thinks they can get away with. The three colors of the zones are red, yellow, and green. The red zone is the area closest to the teacher, about eight feet in any given direction. Students don’t dare goof off when they know the teacher is this close to them for fear of getting caught. The yellow zone is an additional six feet out from the red zone and is considered the cautionary zone. In this zone students will begin to think about goofing off and are waiting for the teacher to move away so they can do what they want. The last zone is the green zone. Anywhere past the 14 feet of red and yellow zones is where most students prefer to be because they know the teacher is occupied with other students in the room. This is when students say, “I’m going for it; I’m going to do what I want to do.” Teachers who continually move about the room are constantly causing the zones to shift so students are less likely able to move off task and start goofing off.

Psalm 66:7 He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations— let not the rebellious rise up against him. (NIV)

This is an excellent reference to a teacher. A teacher must watch over her students in the same way as God watches over all of the nations. In the same way that God doesn't want the rebellious to rise up against him, neither does the teacher. With the teachers constant vigilance and moving about the room, there shouldn't be any problems.