Educational Spaces

I was thinking a lot about educational spaces last night.

Indeed, I will say I spend a lot of time thinking about it in general.

I have the opportunity to go to a lot of Universities and see what it is they do, and more to the point where they do it.  A lot of learning is maybe not defined, but certainly associated with the place in which the learning is done.   So I compare classrooms.

The other day, I was at a major Chicago university, and I won't mention which one, and the building I was in was in disrepair.  The facilities are falling apart, and the place was just a mess, really.  Granted, I was there at the end of the day, but still.  This is where people are learning, and this is the environment they are learning in.

I thought back to my undergrad and grad career at Southern Illinois University, one of the nicest campuses I know of.  The buildings were not new by any stretch, and we used to poke fun at the lack of technology our grad office had.  But it was still an inviting place to learn.  Some of the campuses I visit for work are also very inviting.  Saint Xavier University on the south side of Chicago isn’t rolling in the money and their buildings are old, but the campus has a warmth about it that also makes it inviting.  As an educator and educational researcher, I wonder how this affects the learning of those students in these situations.

I think about my kids’ classrooms.  Very inviting.  When I recall the elementary school I grew up in, all I can recall is how cold it always was in the classrooms, but how much fun we had outside.  Memories.  It was always winter inside and summer outside.

I wish this campus I was at the other day looked better.  I recall what it looked like 10+ years ago, and it was nicer then, but it is like no one has really done anything to keep it up.

I hope that it is not adversely affecting the students.

 (imported from my original education blog)