Writing Spaces

The 19^th century classrooms saw a shift in the overall layout of the room and the objects, such as desks and black boards, within them. These shifts would change not only how the space was used by teachers and students, but how and on what surfaces writing was taught. Barbara Finkelstein in Governing the Young, explains that one of the important parts of writing instruction was presenting standards to be imitated. This meant the tools available to teachers and the spaces they occupied were very important. Ultimately, the appropriate room was meant to foster and serve as a model of respect and order. Discipline was an essential for teaching a class, and teachers had to establish and maintain proper discipline. The space was used to create good discipline in its students and used to punish those who were not behaving properly.