Seating And Sitting Arrangements In A Classroom

Back in the days when I was in Basic school, I’d always prefer to be seated either in front or in the middle of the class. The back seat or a seat by the window was a NO! NO! for me. I would flinch when my sitting position was changed. It usually did affect my behavior in class and also my general interest in school. But then, have we, as teachers or lecturers, really taken a consideration into seating and sitting arrangements in the classroom or anything goes?
Before I proceed, let’s get the distinction between seating arrangement and sitting arrangement. The former has to do with how the seats are arranged - circular fashion, theatre fashion, horse-shoe fashion, etc. The latter refers to positions allocated to people to sit.
That cleared, do sitting arrangements really matter in a classroom setting? Can a scholar just desire a particular spot in the classroom without any hindrance?

I am a student who preferred to sit at the back even though I had bad eye sight. My teacher would change my position several times and each term I would relocate to the back. I was a kid so I probably didn’t get the import of why my teacher kept doing that even after explaining to me severally.

Then again, I am a student who would be comfortable no matter where I am positioned. I am the kind who wouldn’t mind being placed anywhere. I was just free-spirited and my colleagues didn't have problems having me as their sitting mate.
Now when it comes to sitting arrangements, pairing students helps them work well together and enables the teacher have control over the class. But it can also be a disadvantage because students dont get to socialze much. They get comfortable with their sitting mate and sometimes refuse to have another sitting mate. The cluster kind of sitting arrangement, on the good side, makes it easy for group work kind of study. However, with the cluster arrangement, some students may have their back facing the teacher which will create distractions while lesson is ongoing. Thus, every sitting arrangement has its pros and cons.

When it comes to seating arrangements in a class, mine is dependent on the kind of lesson being taught. For an interactive class, I’d prefer a round seating arrangement or the horse-shoe arrangement. For a lecture kind of class, I’d prefer the usual desk-in-a-row kind of seating arrangement. For a group discussion, I would go for the cluster seating arrangement. Hence, the classroom should be built to allow changes in seating arrangements when necessary. Mind you, the classroom size can also determine what kind of seating arrangement would be more appropriate. The cluster arrangement would be more suitable in a small size classroom while the desk-in-a-row kind of arrangement would be suitable for a large size classroom.
If you are a teacher reading this, drop in the comment box 👇 which kind of seating arrangements you prefer. Mine is the horse-shoe and cluster seating arrangements.