“Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future” – Robert L Peters.
The design of your school plays a huge role in the kind of culture that you want to instill in your students, but also the image you represent to anyone that visits your school. This school culture goes into shaping the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and values that your students take forward with them not only into every lesson, conversation they have, but also molds them into the kind of person they will be for the rest of their lives. In essence, when you’re thinking about redesigning your school, it’s keeping in mind the fact that every design change you make will have a significant impact on your student’s holistic development.
Redesigning a school is a process that has three main factors contributing towards making your dream school a reality; 1) Planning, 2) Time, 3) Cost. These three weigh in on whether your redesign plans actually happen or fall through. With the hopes of having a school that fills students with a passion to be creative and the desire to learn, people still miss the mark. We regularly see educators with good intentions trying to make changes to their school’s design, but it not working out.
Common mistakes we’ve seen people make over the years
1. Traditional design curbs learning
The needs of students and the manner in which they learn have evolved. But for instance, if one were to stick to the same design arrangements like the cells & bells method* which in previous years was sought after, it would limit the opportunity for students to learn as compared to more contemporary options like having a learning street* would. When looking to redesign your school, be open-minded and explore the options that can enhance your students’ holistic learning experience.
