SWC #9: If these Walls Could Talk

For a long time, I felt the pressure to make a pretty classroom.  I remember veteran teachers advising me to create a space that is comfortable, since I spend most of my time there.  Make it my home away from home.

In some campuses, there was an internal competition to see who could create the most asthetically pleasing classroom.  I admit it, at times I felt the pressure to conform.  It's real.  Schools want pretty looking classrooms that they can showcase to prospective parents. This made me frequently ask this question.

WHOM is the classroom designed for? The teacher or the learners?

This classroom below represents a trend for teachers to create a classroom that reflects a theme, in this case it's all about creating a farmhouse motif.  I don't have a problem with a theme, but it's about the design. Notice all of the pre-printed materials that can easily be put up with little or no reflection of the actual learning happening in the classroom.  This is what makes it difficult for me. There is little or no reflection of the learners in the learning space design.

By Teacher Created Resources

Some of you are probably thinking this classroom looks extreme, but I have passed many that have looked this way.  All I see...this is the teacher's classroom and the learners are welcome to visit, but they will not have a say in how it is designed. 

By Hobby Lobby

Here is a more realistic display within an elementary/primary classroom.  There is a bright display with a shared calendar and a center of organized materials. I love the organized materials part, because it allows for learner independence, but these questions still keep popping up in my mind.

• Who decided the display design?  What is it's overall purpose?
• Who chose these materials?  Why them and not others?
• What is the goal of this space?  

On a positive note, I do see some learner-created artwork to the right, which means they have some creativity in the day.  The thing I am focused on is this, how responsive is the learning environment in meeting the needs of the learners? How do the walls speak about their learning journey, rather than the teaching journey?  

This is a continual struggle as we pivot from teacher to learner-driven experiences.