Walking into a classroom on the first day of school, you look around: No friends in sight and panic starts to sink in. Assigned seats can eliminate the stress of having to choose the perfect seat. 

Assigned seats might not be the most popular classroom policy, but they definitely are one of the most helpful. They make learning easier, making new friends more likely and the classroom a lot less intimidating.  

The benefit of assigned seats is simple: you actually learn more. When teachers assign seats, they often have a reason for doing so. They might separate students who talk too much, place someone closer to the board so they can see better or try to encourage you to talk to different people. Instead of sitting next to the same friends everyday and getting easily distracted, assigned seating creates a better learning environment for everyone. 

Without even realizing it, teenagers’ frontal lobe development restricts their ability to sit in a responsible seat. Assigned seating charts allow for teachers to ensure their students can behave appropriately and strive to do well in the classroom. 

Assigned seating also helps people make friendships they probably wouldn’t have made otherwise. If students always choose their seats, they almost always sit right next to their same group of friends; they rarely meet anyone new. Therefore, teachers’ seating choices have a big influence on the formation of students’ friendships. 

Nothing is worse than not knowing where to sit down when you walk into a new classroom. Walking into a class with no assigned seats can feel like entering a competition. You may look around the room trying to figure out where you’re “supposed” to sit—hoping there will be a seat next to one of your friends— or sometimes even hoping not to take someone else’s unofficial seat in a classroom of unfamiliar faces. 

Assigned seats remove that awkward moment entirely. You don’t have to feel stressed walking into class. Rather you simply walk in, go to your desk, and begin class.

The same idea applies to group projects. While the majority of students want to choose their own groups, assigned groups can actually work better. When teachers give students the opportunity to pick who they work with, it almost always ends with people getting left out or not everyone in the group contributing to the assignment. Teachers assigning groups helps to make projects more fair and balanced. 

That said, there is one thing I think all teachers can do to make assigned seats and groups more fair: ask students for their input. A simple survey asking questions like who you work well with—or if there is someone you have problems working with— lets teachers make seating arrangements and teams for the best learning environment. It keeps things fair, but prevents situations where students feel uncomfortable or unproductive.

At the end of the day, assigned seats are not about control. It is about creating a classroom where people can focus, feel included and sometimes even meet someone new. 

So while most students celebrate when the teacher says, “Sit where you want.” I will always prefer to hear something different. 

“Sit in your assigned seats.”