I've noticed quite a difference in what's on top of the tables during staff development versus what is on the tables in my classroom and other classrooms.
My classroom:
binders and paper
pencils
dictionary
Staff Development:
binders and paper
marker cup
basket of candy and chocolate
name cards
pencils, pens highlighters
inspirational quotes
5 water/coffee glasses/bottles
6 cell phones (all used at various times, off task)
Why do we have different expectations for the tops of tables?
[Just my random thought from the morning session and the afternoon session yesterday. I'll try to post more about this later today.]