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School Design That Supports Democratic Education

1. Posted by admin in 4 |
2. December 31st, 1969 |
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Amidst all the hot topics in education - high-stakes testing, mayoral control, school choice, and more - one essential issue that seems to get lost in the shuffle (including, to my shame, in this blog) is the arena of educational architecture and design. Yet for me, every now and then, my latent interest in architecture flares up or I discover a new article or website devoted to school architecture, and I am once again reminded that we ignore the topic of physical space and school design to the great detriment of young people.

A few weeks ago, Prakash Nair of the innovative architecture and design company Fielding Nair International, wrote an article for Education Week (PDF link here) on just this topic. I’ve encountered Nair’s name, as well as his partner Randall Fielding, numerous times over the years, and I am deeply impressed with their ideas and designs. They are not only incredible architects, but also insightful education planners and thinkers who create their educational designs in such a way that will support self-directed personalized learning, democratic community participation, and sustainable principles. Nair’s recent article in Ed Week gave recommendations regarding the stimulus money for educational facilities. Wrote Nair:

“If we simply repair broken structures, we will ignore the real problems with American education while giving renewed life to a model of teaching and learning that has been obsolete since the end of the industrial era.

“Let’s start with the fundamental building block of almost every single school in this country: the classroom. Who seriously believes that locking 25 students in a small room with one adult for several hours each day is the best way for them to be “educated”? In the 21st century, education is about project-based learning, connections with peers around the world, service learning, independent research, design and creativity, and, more than anything else, critical thinking and challenges to old assumptions.”

Sound familiar, democratic and progressive educators? Aside from the design bent, these words could have been spoken by anyone from John Dewey to Deborah Meier, from Maria Montessori to Matt Hern and Yaacov Hecht (although admittedly, a couple of those folks would have said “20th” instead of “21st” Century!). Clearly, the democratic education world has allies in the architectural world.

And what does a setting designed to support democratic education look like? What design elements can better enable students to take ownership over their own learning and foster a strong democratic community that upholds the participation and voice of everyone in the learning process? Here are a few key aspects from Fielding and Nair’s articles and designs:

• small schools to insure that every student is known and supported at a personal level
• multifaceted learning studios and common areas for collaborative and hands on activities
• small nooks and study spaces for individualized projects and small group work
• indoor and outdoor spaces to support all kinds of physical activities, including a connection to nature and the environment
• aesthetics that support learning, including indoor and outdoor windows, plentiful daylight, comfortable seating, and deliberately-designed lighting and acoustics
• facilities that support music, theater, and visual arts

Take a listen to an interview with Randall Fielding on Phorecast, in which Fielding explores these theories and how they impact the practical design of school and educational settings. During the interview Fielding mentions the High School for Recording Arts (HSRA) in St. Paul, Minnesota - a school designed by Fielding and Nair’s firm which I had the privilege to visit last year with renowned Minnesota educator and HSRA board member, Wayne Jennings (who Fielding also mentions in the interview).

You can view designs and information about HSRA, as well as Fielding Nair’s other designs, on the Fielding Nair International website. They also wrote a book on this topic, published in 2005: The Language of School Design: Design Patterns for 21st Century Schools.

Luckily, theirs is not the only innovative educational architecture firm out there. I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Interdistrict Downtown School (IDDS) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a school designed with many of the same principles: open windows to the outside and between educational spaces, small and large areas for a variety of collaborative and independent work, and spaces that support physical activity and the arts. IDDS was designed by The Cunningham Group, which also seems to have a solid theoretical stance that supports innovation and personalization in learning.

Another resource to check out, DesignShare is an organization dedicated to supporting many of these same principles in educational design. Their great website includes links to innovative school designs, articles about architecture and schools, and updated news and events related to educational design.

Last but not least, one of the most vibrant schools I have seen also has a great school design: Hadera Democratic School in Hadera, Israel. The Hadera school features a circle of buildings, each with a different focus such as the photography lab or the library or the gym or the self-directed learning lab, all of which form a ring around a large open space in the center for outdoor games, a playground, and more.

Know of other schools that have great designs? Any other resources out there for folks to look into and think about? Please do share. And let’s make sure we keep the element of school design and physical setting front and center in the work for democratic educational change.