In my last post Inspiration, I talked about the ways in which the design of a room reflect the personalities of the owner. Celebrity interior designer, Nate Berkus, in his book The Things That Matter shares the stories of home owners told by their homes. One of the recurring themes is one of encouragement to his reader: find out what makes you unique and design your house to make that evident. Which leads me to my next big question:
Big Question #2
What kind of story does your classroom/school tell?
If we look at the metaphor of a "story", it's extremely fitting. A story has a beginning, middle and end. It is written with an audience in mind. The story is an interaction between reader and author and shares a piece of the author. A story has themes, a main idea, a cast of characters, etc. It would almost be insulting to identify all obvious parallels between a story and a classroom. But that's why I like his book so much. It seems so obvious that rooms/homes tell a story but I never thought of it that way.
If I, as a teacher and main designer of a room (caveat: I do think the kids play an important designer role in the shaping of the story of the classroom) look at my classroom as telling a story, I would certainly be more intentional in how I design and maintain the space. In order to be intentional, I need to answer Mr. Berkus's question: what makes me/my teaching unique. How can a visitor who pops in and out quickly get an immediate answer to that question when they walk into the room? And how can my students, participate in and learn from the story?
To extend the idea just a bit further, a classroom doesn't act independently. A school is a collection of rooms that must be shaped by its administrators to tell its own story.
"As I've said over and over again, our homes should tell the stories of
who we are. Not who our decorator is. Not who our friends sometimes
think we should be, not who our family occasionally wishes we would
be,and not who any number of style magazines tell us we must be." - The Things That Matter, Berkus.
I don't think Mr. Berkus would object to interchanging the word "homes" for "classrooms" in that quote.
What story does YOUR classroom tell? Does it tell the story you want it to?
Interior design is a reflection of the personality of the client. Designers meet with clients to get a sense of who they are and what they want their space to convey through its design. When you enter the living room of our house, if we have done our job, you should feel comfortable, welcome, at home, relaxed. We designed the room that way, from the furniture layout to the paint color. Each aspect of the room was chosen, never mind the large pile of mail that occasionally builds up. (Or the piles of shoes, or the Amazon boxes or... :) ) Nevertheless, there was a point when the feel of the room and all the components of the room were selected to convey a message: We are warm, social, inviting people who like our guests to feel at home in our home.
Classrooms are spaces that reflect the educational priorities of the teacher and school. Walking into a classroom, I believe, a visitor gets an immediate sense of what is important (or what isn't important.) So, why do so many classrooms, including my own, feel like they lack a clear vision? The classroom and its contents should reflect intentionality. One should be able to identify not only what the room feels like but what also is meant to be learned in and from the room, because we can learn from the environment purely by participating in it. Right?
My living room... the inspiration for this whole exploration. And maybe my desire at times to be in my living room instead of being at work. But don't tell anyone that part. :)
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| My classroom 2011-2012 |
Living rooms. Bathrooms. Dining Rooms. Kitchens. Garages. Offices. The list of designable rooms goes on and on. I guess all rooms, at one point or another, have been analyzed and designed by a professional designer. Yet, in my 8 years as an educator, I have never heard of an interior designer come in and design a classroom. I am sure it happens. I just haven't ever heard of it. But think of the amount of time that children/young adults/ adults spend in a classroom compared to the other designed rooms in their lives. Trends pass through the design world. Kitchens are moving away from granite countertops. Stainless steel is no longer desired. Carpet and wallpaper are making comebacks. And much more. But trends in classroom interior design....
Big Question #1:
Is there such a thing as classroom interior design?
The obvious answer, of course, is yes. There are design elements in classrooms. One only has to go to the nearest teacher store to witness first hand the answer to that. But a quick google search of "classroom interior design" opens up a bunch of websites that offer "tips" on ways to add elements of design to your classroom but fail to explore theoretically the space as it is: a room of intention, where function, aesthetics and transparency collide.
A short search on "living room interior design" highlights that the design of living rooms has adapted to the design of that time. Think of the "modern living room" or "mid-century modern living room" or "the arts and crafts living room" and so on. Have classrooms had a similar mirroring of current design trends? You could design your classroom to reflect this design style but there doesn't seem to be any correlation between a current design style and its evidence in a classroom. How have classrooms largely evaded design trends?
I am not an interior designer. That much is PAINFULLY evident. A 10 minute Google search isn't enough to answer the question: Is there such a thing as classroom interior design? Maybe it exists and I need to do a lot more research. Maybe it doesn't....
Maybe it should.
Hello readers and welcome to the DesignED classroom. This blog is my opportunity to explore an area of education for which I have come to have some strong curiosity and passion: the integration of curriculum and interior design. In the blog, I hope to get "messy" with my thoughts on these topics. Because this area of education seems largely untapped, the designED classroom is purely a place to "play". I will be reading books, articles, magazines; I will be having conversations with colleagues and professionals; I will be setting up and taking down my own classroom; I will be self-criticizing and changing my mind. I hope that, in knowing this, you will forgive me as I go through this journey. I hope that we will journey together and that you will take the time to participate. However, as a passive participant, you are still participating and I appreciate it. We may have disagreements on things and I hope that this is a safe place, much like a classroom, where we can learn and grow together, challenge each other in our discussions, discussions founded in mutual respect and professional courtesy. Above all, I am excited to get moving on this and I hope that my excitement sparks something in you. It has been on my mind for awhile and it is about time to do something about it. So here goes: Welcome to the DesignED classroom.
