How can schools change classrooms for the better?

You walk down the dim hall with a bag with what feels like bricks on your back. You hear the scrambling of feet and yelling of young adults as you walk into this prison-like setting, and are seated in a strict row formation. “What time is it?” you ask your peer but are quickly hushed by the warden of the room and threatened with disciplinary action. As the final second ticks down, the bell rings and you leave for your next class. 

Schools today are still facing so many challenges when it comes to the lack of improvement in not only the general education system but the setting in which these students are put to learn. The average classroom has barely changed within the last 200 years, with students being forced to learn in a not-so-learning-friendly environment. Most of the school systems provide responses along the lines of “it’s worked for this long, why not another year?” or “we don’t have the budget for that.” Regardless of budget, there are much better ways for students to learn, but first let’s state the facts. 

Before we can go into possible solutions to the current classroom crisis, we need to explain what the current classroom conditions are and the problems that exist.  According to Continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com, “Classrooms are typically 800 to 1,100 square feet, sized to accommodate 20 to 30 students, and are square to slightly rectangular. Common classroom sizes include 28 by 30 feet, 30 by 30 feet, and 32 by 32 feet, while corridors tend to be 6 to 18 feet wide.” Now within the 28 by 30-foot space there are rows of desks usually with a compartment underneath, accompanied by a hard metal chair and, depending on school funding, a smartboard, chalkboard, or whiteboard in front of the class. Besides that, there are dimly colored walls with poor lighting and possibly a clock on the wall. 

Let’s start with the chairs. The metal chairs that we have all had and used in the classroom can range from $150 to $250  per chair. Now according to infohub.nyced.org, there are “26.4 students per class.” If we round that number to 26 and assume each student gets a chair, that would cost from about $3900 to $6500 per classroom alone. Now you might be asking what the best solutions would be for this type of problem. The answer to that is to make the switch to office chairs. Depending on the chair, they can range anywhere from $25 to thousands of dollars.  It is more than possible for schools to make the change to the office chairs. 

Then there are the walls. Although the color of the walls can be said to be a personal preference, the most used color should be something vibrant. No one wants to walk into a school starting the day and the color they see the most often is something dark and gloomy. Psychologytoday.com says, “Lighter colors make walls seem a little further away,” which can result in a classroom feeling a bit more spacious and comfortable. Although this may not apply to all school classrooms (such as  FHS & HMS), there are many schools that use darker, less energizing colors. 

All schools should make the change to lighter-colored classrooms and make office chairs the new normal in the classroom environment. With these changes, we can ultimately change the entire classroom experience for the better and increase the current productivity of schools as a whole.