Hours are spent in classrooms daily as teachers work, spending time away from home to educate their students. Classrooms give teachers creative freedom and the opportunity to decorate a space that can be their home away from home.
“Any kind of school classroom is going to be built almost like a utilitarian type of environment, so to soften it up a little bit and still be respectful of the school’s space, you have to think, ‘What could you do with what you have?’” English teacher Jennifer Dean said.
It can be challenging to come up with ways to make a space feel authentically like the person inhabiting it. Educators like photography teacher Alex Kang, a first-year teacher, decided to bring elements of their home environment to their workspace.
“Coming into a new building, I really wanted to try to make it as homey and comfortable as possible, for not just me, but for my students as well,” Kang said. “I first brought things from home, like pictures of people that are important to me, and then I started to take student artwork and decorate the room with that as well. I think it helps students stay motivated, and it’s always great for them to see what other students are working on.”
According to Marymount University, an area’s design can control people’s emotions and mental health. Common feelings that can be felt within an area are anxiety or peace. Being able to understand what emotions evoke in an environment, helps navigate the direction people want to go in when designing.
“I think when students feel like there was some care taken to not overstimulate them, but also give them an interesting environment, they’re a little bit better able to focus,” Dean said. “It helps me to stay calm too and have a little bit of control over the space I spend so many hours at. I feel like it’s a little home away from home.”
According to Nuvance Health, a cluttered space can make an individual feel overwhelmed, which causes a shift in their focus and messes with their memory. This feeling occurs because the human brain is attempting to process every piece of decoration in the room.
“When I first started, I believed every single piece of wall needed decoration and that I was a bad teacher if I wasn’t changing the decor,” history teacher Mary Keating said. “My change now is minimal; I don’t want students to be overwhelmed. So when I decorate, I tend to think about students and if it’s too much. I think less is more.”
