If young people today were to compare their experiences of school with their parents’ or grandparents’, there would be huge variations between each account. The materials used each day would be different, the curriculum would have changed and particularly the ways in which school children were disciplined. One thing, however, which has remained relatively the same, would be the design of the classroom.
Yes, a vast amount technology has been introduced into education either during school hours or for accessing homework. Some parents would argue that far fewer life skills and domestic skills which are still necessary are being taught today. There is a much more relaxed attitude towards discipline, teachers are younger and friendlier towards pupils, pupils are heard more and there are no physical punishments handed out which were given to previous generations. But the pupils still walk into the class and sit at their desk facing the teacher, waiting for the day ahead as the overall design of the classroom remains the same.
Why Look at the Design of the Classroom?
Changing the design of a classroom can change the way that young people learn. We live in a society where young people are very focussed on being social, but with the takeover of technology and social networking, their social relationships can unfortunately predominantly take place online. This can affect their ability to build positive, real relationships in adulthood and therefore have a negative effect on their future.
One way to move towards changing this would be to alter the design of a classroom, enforcing more interaction rather than facing the back of one another’s heads. Some establishments across the water have even taken steps to redesign a whole school rather than just a classroom. Most schools should have some kind of heating but some have underfloor heating too. On the other side schools should have some kind of cooling system like from an Air conditioning Gloucester company found at sites like acecc.co.uk/.
The Final Touches
Whilst the positives of technology can at times far outweigh the negatives, it cannot be denied that this is affecting our young peoples’ ability to build relationships. There are also many other valid reasons for redesigning classrooms, such as boosting academic success and creating a more natural and individualistic space. Whichever one of the above is regarded to be of the most importance, it would appear that classroom redesign could definitely bring about some positive changes.
