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<< back to Early Education/Cognitive Development A Place Built for Children: Building Confidence Through School Design This article was adapted from Dr. Hebert's book, The Power of Portfolios: What Children Can Teach Us About Learning and Assessment (Jossey-Bass, Inc.). Not long ago, a former student, now a college freshman, stopped by school to visit his second grade sister's classroom. As we chatted briefly in the hallway about how the school looked smaller to him now, I asked him if he knew which classroom was his sister's. He smiled and pointed down the main hallway. "The room with the yellow door: How could I forget?" That smile reminded me that he, too, had been in that very same classroom as a second grader. It also reminded me how important it is for a young child to be saved from peer embarrassment by being confidently able to remember which classroom door to go to each morning. Such a simple idea--painting the doors in different primary colors so that children feel secure in knowing their own classrooms. This example illustrates what a school building itself can communicate. Space and how it is organized has a profound effect both upon learning and the humanly felt sense of being connected to a place. A good space anticipates a child's needs and signals respect for that child as an individual. Environment affects children in many ways In recent years, the school environment has been recognized as an important component contributing to children's behavior and the success of a child's learning. The 'look' and 'feel' of school is deeply connected to attitudes and behavior. A child's self-esteem, sense of belonging, and conflicting needs for control over his/her world and boundaries to guide that control, can be shaped through the thoughtful design of the school and classroom. When children experience a school obviously designed with their needs in mind, they notice it and they make use of it. We have observed children over the years demonstrate a more natural disposition to engage in reflective conversations about their learning. We attribute this disposition, in part, to the secure feeling created by the design of space in our school. There are specific features of Crow Island School's design that promote respectful behavior, enhance learning, and honor children. The lowered classroom ceilings create an intimate classroom space suitable for small children. Two windowed walls in every classroom invite the outdoors inside. Each classroom includes an outside door to separate courtyard space for children to observe their plantings or simply experience a restful moment. All classrooms have an 'L' shaped design that includes an adjacent workroom area to facilitate large block designs, science centers, ongoing projects, or to serve as a technology center in the intermediate level classrooms. And as noted above, every hallway door is vividly announced in one of the primary colors to highlight each classroom's relative location. Wide hallways accommodate a feeling of personal space as children move about the building throughout the day. Skylights bring additional natural light into these hallways which can also be used as adjacent student work areas when needed. Even when first graders are painting large murals in the hallways there is still sufficient space for another class to pass through this hallway. Classroom walls of ponderosa pine have been stapled into for years as teachers display children's work. Adults look back The celebration of Crow Island's 50th Anniversary in the fall of 1990 provided a unique opportunity to collect adults' reflections of their experiences when they were students. Over 400 alumni responded to a questionnaire which asked them to offer significant memories of their time at Crow Island, and specifically, the effect of the design of the building on their early learning. The recollections of these alums were rich with memories of the building and its impact. Again and again, these former students recalled vignettes that highlight the importance of the physical space and its connection to their early school memories. Importance of scaled design The thoughtfulness of a scaled design was deeply felt by these young students. Students recall, for example, that "the light switches were at my level and the auditorium had benches starting with the little ones in front...everything was within my reach." "The seats in the auditorium fit me. My feet could touch the floor and this is important when you feel small." The open feel of having two walls of windows and the convenience of having a bathroom in every classroom is not lost on young children. One alum tells us that "the huge windows and the wooded view stimulated imagination and creativity.....I first learned to ask 'how' and 'why' at Crow Island School and I'm still doing so." Another former student recalls that he, "liked not having to raise my hand and walk down a hallway when I had to go to the bathroom." Three separate age-level playgrounds allow children to feel safe in their play area and confident that they can risk acquiring new skills without the intrusion of a much older and possibly less sympathetic student. Former students remember that on the playground 'kids were my size and I felt safe'. These alumni recollections tell us that the intent to communicate certain values was successfully accomplished by the architects and educators who collaborated in the design of our school. A building that communicates respect to those who use it was a primary goal of the designers. The autonomy of the young child is reinforced through scaled front steps, scaled auditorium benches, light switches and door handles on a child's level. Stimulation of the child's imagination was considered when the actual site of the building, adjacent to a wooded area, was selected. Experimentation is invited in the designation of a workroom space in every classroom. Crow Island School was a pioneer Crow Island School is now 63 years old and has been widely recognized for its architectural significance. Thousands of students have experienced this humane surrounding, which was built to demonstrate architecturally the respect and regard its planners held for childhood, as a period of life in which learning and the joy it affords is a central goal. This thoughtfully designed environment has succeeded in responding to the educational needs of successive generations of children, through all the many changes that have occurred since 1940, because the fundamental design philosophy of child development as a personal quest has remained valid over time. Issues of space, accessibility, innovative design and thoughtful planning for children continue to be valued at Crow Island School as we look ahead to our children's education for many years to come. |
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