Opinion

Opinion Roundup: Couches, booths, and beanbags versus desks and rows

Anya Basnayake, Opinion Editor • November 26, 2025

The 2018 editorial team of The Classic, led by former editor-in-chief Amanda Renzi, designed a classroom that moved away from rows of desks. This new classroom, “410,” introduced a space filled with couches, bean, bags, and booths. In a number of interviews students and staff share if they prefer the layout in room 410 or the layout of traditional classrooms.

Something as minor as classroom setups can affect a student’s attention, participation, and learning within a class. These setups can encourage collaboration and participation in groups, supporting students’ varied learning styles over traditional rows of desks.

A classroom that stands out because of its setup is 410. In 2018, the editors of The Classic proposed an experimental classroom and selected 410 for a redesign. Led by former editor-in-chief Amanda Renzi, who designed the layout of the space, the room received a makeover. Instead of rows of desks, the room was filled with various couches, benches, booths and bean bags. It became a room for Classic meetings, journalism selective classes, and other English classes. Due to its stark contrast with more traditional classrooms, The Classic interviewed students regarding their preferred classroom setup and which one is the best.

“

“Out of all the classroom setups I’ve had, I enjoyed [room 410] the most. It has bean bags, couches, and tables instead of desks. […] For me, this made the class feel a lot more familiar, like I already knew everyone there. This setup helps me learn because I feel that I can focus better in an open area. When I take tests in a regular classroom, I get stressed out because it’s so quiet. In this room though, everything is spaced out so that I don’t feel as claustrophobic. I took a test sitting on the couch, and it was really comfortable. I didn’t feel stressed at all.”

— Sophomore Imogen Kujo

“

“I loved [the room we had] Mr. McDonaugh’s [class in] last year (410). The combination of the bean bags, fairy lights, and booths made it such a relaxing band and helped me unwind whenever feeling overwhelmed. When talking with table mates and inferencing passages we had read, this setup allowed it to feel more like a conversational group rather than a forced discussion. Having that setting allayed any feelings of speaking to Mr. McDonaugh as well. The class felt more like a home, and thus, I was more comfortable with sharing my answers and participating. Although I don’t normally go there, the clave is also such a beautiful spot in Townsend and if I did have classes there, it would be so calming.”

— Junior Sophia Chen

“

“In 410 I felt a lot more relaxed. Doing coursework you can feel overwhelmed, but the vibe of the classroom helps me stay focused as well as relaxed. Since everything is so industrial in other classrooms, there is a stark contrast with 410 that makes me feel a lot better. Socially, this classroom helped remove the structure with my peers. For example, turn and talk conversations were a lot more relaxed because of the homey atmosphere. The way that you think and act is impacted by the environment in my opinion. Although 410 isn’t the [“traditional”] example of a learning environment, it encourages more discussion and engagement. I took an English class in that room, which really helped since it was a lot of reading and talking- it was a social class. A more structured class like math or a social science (AP Gov) might benefit more with a traditional classroom.”

— Senior Maimuna Kader

“

“[Room 410 has] a very relaxing and homey atmosphere. It’s pretty crazy here, so I think it’s nice to have a space where your nervous system could tamper down a little bit. I do think in 410, it lends itself to cultivating a sense of community. We’re all coming from different parts of the city and then go our separate ways, so it’s nice to have a place where everyone could feel a little bit more together. Moving around and getting to everybody could be a little bit challenging. When I’m in [410], there’s just this homey kind of familyish aspect about it, that I really like and that just makes teaching feel a little bit less like a job or a chore. 410 is [also] really good for students talking to each other in general. Informal and casual conversations, which is good, is easier in 410 as opposed to other more cold and austere traditional classrooms. But 410 is a little more challenging for [socratic style discussion] because with the sheer number of students it’s hard organizing the classroom in this way where everyone can kind of feel in it, even though we still do, and it still happens. Every year teachers fill out preference sheets at the end of every school year to say what classes, what grades, and what classrooms they’d like to be in. On my preference sheet, I always say that I want 410, so I want that above all other classrooms.”

— English Teacher Mr. McDonaugh

Donate to The Classic

$215

$1000

Contributed

Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of The Classic. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment, support our extracurricular events, celebrate our staff, print the paper periodically, and cover our annual website hosting costs.

About the Contributors

Anya Basnayake, Opinion Editor

Anya is a junior at Townsend Harris High School, and plans to pursue a career in law. Outside of journalism, Anya enjoys playing guitar, spending time with friends, and watching movies. Her favorite Classic project she has worked on is an opinion roundup on cultural representation in events at Townsend Harris. In general, her favorite piece on the Classic is a feature article on the gender gap in MAGA and its affect on social life.

Bella Chen, Sports Photography Editor

Bella is a senior at Townsend Harris High School who hopes to pursue a career that gives her the opportunity to help people. Outside of journalism, she enjoys playing volleyball and cooking. Her favorite Classic piece she worked on is Scenes from Prom 2024, where she remembers the seniors’ happy faces and the delicious ice cream. Her favorite Classic piece made by others is an article titled “Mr. Wang Retires After Ten Years Serving as a THHS Guidance Counselor,” by Intishar Chinho. Mr. Wang was her guidance counselor and she agreed with all the kind things said about him.