Jeanne in MN Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I started substitute teaching at our local public school last year. I used to sub 15 years ago and am kind of taken back by the current school environment. Classrooms now involve a great deal of Smartboard use which means the window shades are always shut and often the lighting in the classroom is dimmed. I love light and a connection to the outdoors, so I'm always opening shades when I can and turning lights back on. Every subject seems to be done using the Smartboard-Language, math, social studies, music, etc. So it feels like we spend a good deal of our time in the semi-dark using a giant interactive computer screen. There's very little white board space left to write if I want to. I look around the classrooms and the walls are filled with word boards, posters, schedules, all sorts of things in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colors. Lots of books, supplies, storage shelves, storage units, work tables, etc. Many necessary things, but sometimes the rooms feel so busy, distracting, and cluttered. I wonder how to today's classroom setting affects the students. Maybe it doesn't affect them, but it does seem to affect me. Just pondering out loud. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebacabunch Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 How could it not affect them? SOunds depressing! Dark and overstimulating classroom; just awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 My dd's high school uses them. They work fine without dimming the lights. Maybe it's the way they are set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca VA Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 That's sad. When I was in school, teachers often left the windows open so fresh air could come in. It was a healthy, natural-feeling environment. Public schools today remind me of prisons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I saw some makeover show, and they redid a classroom. Took all the books and posters out, and gave every desk a slick, new computer. I wanted to cry....and I love computers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I remember seeing lots of classrooms where every nook and cranny was filled with brightly colored this-and-that, and I just wanted to hide. I intentionally toned down my preschool classroom, eschewing tons of bright plastic for natural baskets and wooden toys, softer spaces and even blank wall space at eye level. I believe it made a big difference in the calmness and concentration of my kiddos. It's not the norm, tho--Dd's 5th and 6th grade ps classrooms were filled to bursting. It's just typical. I've seen plenty of homeschoolers adapt the same idea, covering every available wall space with something or other. It looks "classroomy" and "interesting," but too much visual clutter turns off, not turns on, the brain, imo. I guess people have different levels of sensory capacity. I will say, tho, that one of the perks of SBs is that they don't need a dimmed room. You should be able to use them easily with the lights on and the windows unblocked. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Hey, at least there are windows in the classrooms. Most of my dd's classrooms don't have windows at all. Just cinderblock walls. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 We have smart boards in every classroom and you do not need to dim the lights or close the shades unless the window faces the smart board and causes a glare. We do often keep shades drawn and windows closed as we have A/C running at all times due to the heat here. As far as too much stuff... I am a clutter-free person but many of my teachers are into "anchor-charts" so there are posters everywhere, things hanging from the ceiling, etc. We do try to balance it though as our rooms are carpeted and the kids wear socks only in the classroom to keep the sound down. We also have reading cubbies with soft pillows, over-stuffed couches and the like. But I do wonder about overstimulation versus visually appealing. I wonder if there are any studies on it? . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyS Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 This is why all of my book cases are black. I can't help having so many books (ok, maybe I could, but I'm not exactly motivated in that direction), but the dark book cases seem to dim the visual clutter aspect of it because little light gets reflected inside the shelving itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Hey, at least there are windows in the classrooms. Most of my dd's classrooms don't have windows at all. Just cinderblock walls. :glare: I went to two years of high school in FL. Some classrooms didn't have windows because of the air-conditioning (and we even got a "reverse snow day" when the AC didn't work!). The upstairs classrooms were in one giant room with dividers--the dividers didn't even go all the way to the wall. Think "big cubicles" in the middle of a room, with windows on the outside. Weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I've seen plenty of homeschoolers adapt the same idea, covering every available wall space with something or other. It looks "classroomy" and "interesting," i am just not this sort of person, but I always feel a bit pathetic somehow when I see those blog posts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 That's sad. When I was in school, teachers often left the windows open so fresh air could come in. It was a healthy, natural-feeling environment. Public schools today remind me of prisons. Well, the government does use the same architects for both. Hey, at least there are windows in the classrooms. Most of my dd's classrooms don't have windows at all. Just cinderblock walls. :glare: When I taught, one of my rooms not only had no windows, it had no ventilation. It was disgusting and toxic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 i am just not this sort of person, but I always feel a bit pathetic somehow when I see those blog posts... Me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanne in MN Posted October 12, 2012 Author Share Posted October 12, 2012 I will have to try using the Smartboards with the lights on and shades open next time I sub! I forgot to mention that some teachers also use microphones in the classroom. I think they are a little loud myself. I don't like to use one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 Hey, at least there are windows in the classrooms. Most of my dd's classrooms don't have windows at all. Just cinderblock walls. :glare: I don't even understand how that's legal. What about escaping a fire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 Dd14 says all of her classes have regular boards in addition to smartboards that the teachers will use, but they are mostly used for things that need to be written down and saved like test and homework reminders. She says that her classroooms keep blinds open and lights on and it's still easy to see the smartboards. I find it disconcerting though. I'm very old school and it just seems to be the main focus in the room now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 I went to ds's Back to School night at his high school and sat in every class he has. Most of the teachers did a presentation on the smart boards, and I found them obnoxious. Are they supposed to have to bang on them to switch "slides"?!?! Ds's school layout is ridiculous. Some of the teachers obviously worked hard to try to make the rooms comfortable, but many were tiny (barely room between desks to walk) and cluttered, without windows, others were cavernous and cold with huge walls of white-painted cinderblock. It was extremely depressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 I don't even understand how that's legal. What about escaping a fire? Lots of buildings have rooms w/out windows. Think of interior rooms in office skyscrapers. What about most bathrooms? Doctor office rooms? No windows in most of them either. Even when I was in school & in college, it was the same. Most schools around here are large enough (# of students) that most rooms do not have windows; you'd have to have a huge plot of land & a really long, long school to accommodate the # of needed classrooms if you made sure all of them had windows. I've never thought about it being a fire issue; they do have a door to come & go. :tongue_smilie: But, they've already had at least 4 fire drills since school started 7 weeks ago.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 It's been that way a long time. Way before smart boards. I remember scouting out private schools for out then 5 year old oldest, so 13 years ago. I made classrooms with windows a requirement. Laugh if you want but I'm serious. Any school I toured that didn't have at least one good sized window in every classroom was out. I had a VERY hard time finding them in our price range. I think lighting, especially outdoor lighting is actually very import to an environment they are spending 6+ hours in 5 days a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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