Comfort and Community

As the bell rings, students enter the boring colored class room with the same chairs with encouraging academic posters. The classrooms all look the same with a slight switch depending of the teacher and their tidiness. Why not make the classroom more homelike, since most children spend a majority of their time at school?

According to the article How Comfortable Classrooms Lead to a Better Student Community the comfort level of the classroom affects the children greatly. A great teacher once told me that school is like our home away from home, we live here. That saying rings true when talking about the comfort of a classroom. When children are relaxed and feel safe, they can really begin to learn.

Creating a comfortable classroom takes multiple steps. A teacher should keep the space clean, clutter free, and involving the students. In a clean classroom the materials that students need will be ready and prepared for any project that a child is presented with.

An important factor of keeping the classroom tidy is the teacher's desk being clean. A clean teachers desk, is a role model for the children and it is a welcoming space for the students. When a student approaches the desk the student may not get distracted easily and can see organizational skills at work.

Involving the students in the classroom is when students can see their artwork or decorations on the wall. Decorating the walls with the students' work shows the students that they are part of the classroom community and not just bodies filling a chair.

For a teacher, the children's needs should be first. Children come to school to feel safe, comfortable and to learn. Why not optimize their learning in an environment they are constantly in, and really make it feel like a home away from home?