Who Wants To Learn...

...in a classroom that looks like this?

Most of us are used to this kind of environment. It's a very common layout for today's school systems.

Growing up I was blessed enough to have a separate playroom for all my toys. Something you didn't know about me: I love to play school. My mother bought me all kinds of stuff for my classroom. I had a whiteboard, an overhead projector, real school books with worksheets, borders for my bulletin board, and more. I even had things that had my name on them: Miss. Osborn's class. My friends would come over and we'd all play school, after we'd get home from real school. It was crazy! We loved it! I was destined to become a teacher. I had a change of heart and chose design but it would be really cool if I got into designing school systems. They would be the most colorful and fun rooms! Here are some really awesome schools that I have found all over the world. Notice they all have a few things in common.

 

As you can tell the main theme of design is keeping the structural elements natural if not all white and bringing color through the accents and furniture. And by color, I mean lots of bright colors! Another key element is all the natural daylight. Children are more apt to learn better and stay awake in an environment like the ones above. Locking a child into a room with hardly any windows is not the best learning experience. More daylight = better worker productivity = better grades. That goes for middle and high school kids as well. I would love to go back to school if I could spend my day in one of these schools. Most kids flip out when they have to go to school because it's a new place that's scary and mom isn't there. But if schools were designed with a fun and inviting atmosphere it would make it more easier to transition the child into school when they're young.

Think back when you were at school. What did the classroom environment feel like? Did you enjoy going to school? Was it easy to stay awake and engage in the conversation? If any of the answers were "no" think about the look and feel of the room. Daylight? Fun colors? White walls? There are so many things that go into making a place easy and enjoyable to work in including HVAC. Schools, especially, need to be able to function and be aesthetically pleasing for children to learn in.

That's it for today! I hope everyone has a fantastic week!