In the evening time after coming from what is usually a boring day of school, I sit down on the couch, throw up my feet, and play xbox. As soon as I know it, 3 hours has passed and I haven't even noticed.
How does this happen?
Well think of it like this. When we you first move into a new house you paint, put in your furniture, put up pictures and decorations, things that turn that new house into home. We aim to make our home a place where we feel comfortable, safe and somewhere we can simply sit happily for hours.
This September I will be exactly 12 years in school. This is such a long time, when I think about how many years I spend in school, its almost like a second home. The thing is, its not, because my school is designed like most others. My school is painted in dark, sad colours. My school is filled with dark metal chairs, and wooden tables. My school is the closet thing to a prison.
Not a day goes by in school where I don't look at the clock at least 100 times every hour!
Look at the picture above!
I ask you, does this classroom look like a place you would want to spend nearly 7 hours a day in? Does this place look like somewhere you could feel comfortable?
The simple fact is our classrooms need to inspire our young people to think outside the box, make them feel comfortable, safe, a place that makes want to learn. They currently are just designed to last a life time, thats all they are there to do.
"Inspiring" should be the word to describe all school classrooms.
The one thing that sticks out to me in the top picture is on the wall it says " Once upon a time .... " . Every time a student walks into this library, a story begins.
Thats the way it should be every time a student walks into a classroom, the start of a new story.
I spoke to Tricia Kelleher, the prinicap of Stephen Perse Foundation schools and she told me her thoughts on innovate learning spaces.
"Innovative learning spaces have helped recalibrate the relationship between the learners and their environment. Whether through positive engagement with an inspiring space or transformed pedagogy in a room where students are encouraged to share their ideas by writing on walls, our learning spaces are an integral part of our teachers' toolkit" - Tricia Kelleher
Above is a picture of one of the offices offered by RocketSpace. Although these are Startup offices, the design can still apply to our classrooms.
RocketSpace is designed for Tech entrepreneurs because "Every tech founder knows that he has to surround his team with the best resources to make his company and product a success"
Surely thats what we should be offering our students! the best resources to make their education a success. One of the most important resources, the space.
Our classrooms are the places where our young people grow. We have the opportunity to design our classrooms in a way that encourages our young peoples minds to run free, and allow them to think differently!
Let's take that opportunity!
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