The Perfect Classroom For Me by Thasuni

The Perfect Classroom For Me by Thasuni - July 2020 Scholarship Essay

Environment is a crucial factor to the quality of a student’s education. Being in an environment where a student is able to feel relaxed, supported, and inspired will inevitably help them learn. For this reason, it is best if the classroom a student is in is well-equipped for their needs. Each student learns best in different ways, but there are certain aspects that stay the same for every student: being in a space where they don’t feel cramped, having sources of inspiration, being able to collaborate, and being able to feel relaxed while they learn.
My ideal classroom includes all these aspects. My dream classroom is slightly larger than the average classroom size so that I don’t feel cramped and the classroom is able to fit many two-person desks. Having desks that seat two students allows more opportunities for collaboration and thus can help me excel through learning how to communicate material effectively to my peers and also sharing different ideas with them. There are large, slightly tinted windows lining at least one whole side of the room - but there is still space for a counter area where educational models, supplies, and plants can be placed. Having a lot of light in the room can help keep me clear-headed as I learn and being able to see the sky outside can also help me not feel confined in the classroom - overall helping me relax while I learn so that I can learn more effectively. Personally, plants tend to help me feel calm as well - so I think that having a lot of small plants in a classroom can help me learn better as well as give the classroom some life. I would also prefer for there to be many educational posters on the walls around the classroom with vivid imagery; these can help inspire students as they learn and keep them engaged.
In addition, the type of technology and tools in the classroom would also play a large part in helping me learn. I, as well as many of my peers, learn better when there’s more opportunities to engage in hands-on learning. Having at least two whiteboards that can span a whole wall would help me learn by allowing a place where the teacher could draw out visuals of concepts and also an area where I and my classmates could work out more complex problems together. My ideal classroom also has a good quality projector that the teacher could use for lessons and to show videos that help further our understanding of lessons.
Moreover, there should be even more opportunities for both visual and hands-on learning. My ideal classroom would also have an area in the back where there’d be models meant specifically for exploration that students could pick apart and put back together, the types of models would depend on the subject that is taught. A common problem in the classroom is that my backpack and lunchbox always seem to get in the way of my classmates when they walk around or in the way of my own feet when I’m working - I usually keep it on the floor near my desk. Because of this, I would like if there was an area in the back of the classroom where bags could be stored in cubbies - similar to what we used to have in preschool. This is a very small thing, but I think that it contributes importantly to the overall effect of students being able to feel relaxed and stress-free while working in the classroom - allowing them to learn better and more deeply.
My classroom is all the things that I’ve come to realize as a student can really help me learn better. It’s really the most basic things that matter the most: having space to move around, not feeling cramped, having visuals, being able to have a calm state of mind, being able to feel inspired, and having a good workspace with good technology and tools. Though every person does learn differently, I think these are common factors among all of us that can help us feel that we are in a place where we can simply forget other aspects of our lives and just learn well and meaningfully.