When Robison second grade teacher Osmin Constanza was still in college, he often found himself gravitating to coffee shops when a test was coming up in one of his classes. He liked the calming ambiance and accessibility to food and drinks when he needed to settle down and go over his notes one last time.
He found that studying in a coffee shop often lessened the stress surrounding tests. So, he brought that same mentality to his classroom. Students are able to experience Starbooks in the classroom before a test by breaking up into pairs to help solve any last-minute problems together and are able to enjoy snacks and drinks in a controlled environment.
“The main goal of this is to remove all of that stress that comes with preparing for tests, looking at those hard questions, and what it does is it makes it a little bit more enjoyable,” Constanza said.
Starbooks was a concept Constanza first introduced to his students last year, when he taught at Van Buskirk Elementary. But he knew he wanted to continue it at Robison when he started at the midtown school this year.
By having students work in pairs, with two pairs to a table group, students can grow more comfortable with working together and get a sense of being in a study hall.
As far as the snacks and drinks that students enjoy while studying, those are provided by parent donations. They can include different types of juices and waters, and cookies, doughnuts or other treats.
Starbooks time always takes place before lunch, and the classroom is overtaken with badges, signs and décor throughout the classroom. Constanza and a student helper wear special aprons while serving the drinks and treats to the rest of the students.
“It’s more so just to have like that cute, adorable kind of thing that [the students] like,” Constanza said. “Cutesy, as they call it. But they really enjoy it.”
