Space, Light, Order

My high school experience took place in a one-story building that was spread over a large area and accommodated 1200 students each day.  Most of the classrooms were on the “inside” hallways of the building and were like little caves.  No windows.  White cement block walls.  Artificial lighting.  Recycled air.  Who designed this place and thought it would be a good place for student learning?  It was a fairly modern building.  I believe that the building was built in the late 60’s or early 70’s.  But even as a 15-year-old high school student, I thought it strange to have a building with classrooms closed in like that.  The few classes during the day that took place in the classrooms lucky enough to have windows were like a breath of fresh air, literally.  I have to ask myself, if correct use of space, light, and order can make a house more like home, what effect can they have on a learning environment?  Could it be that the way in which we arrange the desks, the lighting we choose, the way we use the windows, the colors we choose for the walls, and other things could have an effect on student learning?  Or maybe it simply affects the way a student feels walking into the environment we create in our classrooms.  Obviously, we are limited, in a way, to what is already there.  My teachers in my high school didn’t build the building and choose their classrooms with no windows.  It’s simply the hand they got dealt.  

I was fortunate enough to teach for 4 years in a very small private school in Lansing.  During that time, we were granted permission to do just about whatever we wanted with our classrooms.  My first year teaching, I just moved in my few belongings.  I didn’t have time to make any massive changes.  But, what stood out to me the most when I moved in was the color of the walls – pink.  And the trim work and bookshelves were a darker pink.  I hated it.  Immediately.  I’m biased.  I don’t like pink, but it was almost overwhelming.  I started putting together plans to change that for the next school year. 

During the summer after my first year teaching, a mother of one of my students and I painted the room a very light blue color.  The trim work and the bookshelves we painted slightly darker blue.  I bought an a blue area rug, some blue and white lawn chairs, and a modern floor lamp and created a reading corner.  I switched out the chalkboard for a 12-foot magnetic white board.  I decorated the bulletin boards with a sea/beach theme.  I noticed that my class dynamics changed.  I am sure that the design of the space, the color change, the decorations, etc. actually changed how my class acted.  You might say that the students were different, and that’s what created the change.  But I taught in a multi-grade classroom in which the majority of my students stayed the same.  One year later, the whole school changed from pink to blue.  

Clearly we have to work with what we have available.   But I think the way we use light, order, and space in our classrooms can actually have a real effect on our students’ learning experiences at school.