Class Reflection #5

One question that I have been considering with much thought lately is: How much chaos is appropriate to have in the classroom? My cooperating teacher is very uncomfortable with chaos. She prefers that the students sit still (criss cross applesauce) and stay silent. I think that this is silly because the kids are 2nd graders! They are wired to giggle and move and laugh and talk and roll around. To ask a second grader to sit still and quiet for 6 hours a day is an impossibility. As a teacher I will be okay with chaos. I will allow my studetns to move around and talk to their neighbors. The question is how much? What is the appropriate amount of chaos? None? Lots? I don't want my classroom to be a zoo of crazy children hanging from the ceiling, but I am certainly not comfortable with the standards that my cooperating teacher sets for her students. Any comments?