Rows of Chairs? (A Link)

Today I noticed that Christian Long had a post up about David Warlick's New Century School House Project. In his description of how to name rooms in this virtual school house, which anyone can obtain, David warns against writing, " 'Columns of Desks' (this one will deliver a mild electrical shock through your keyboard)" Thinking about my own classroom I was really intrigued by this warning. I actually wrote both David and Christian, two mentors of mine, the following email today:

In my school, the janitors have to put chairs in my classroom the two days a week that I teach. Regardless of the number of times I've asked them to make a big circle, they put the chairs in rows. I used to rearrange the room myself. But I've gotten to the point in my teaching where it really doesn't matter how the chairs are set up because within minutes of my class my students either move them or get on the floor for independent/group/collaborative work. There's actually an indoor playground in the room right next to my class for nursery school students. But older kids obviously love playground equipment too. Though the two rooms have a divider I always open it so that my students can work in the playground equipment. Sometimes they work in a play house or under a fort. They've even worked inside of a "snake" toy. Last week, one of my students who is an incredible dancer and gymnast was actually hanging upside down from monkey bars and reading a text. The boy is one of the most capable students in the class and he knew what he was reading and was in a comfortable position, for him. I guess I've come a long way since the days when I required all of my students to sit in their chairs.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.