As the British Government shelves the project to build and rebuild schools across the nation, Rowan Moore, architecture critic at The Observer and Rick Jones, teacher and journalist consider the effect building design has on learning.
Moore argues that architecture is crucial, and point to "how much harm bad buildings can do. Tatty, dysfunctional structures can demotivate and demoralize. A leaking roof, undersized classrooms, or poor heating put direct obstacles in the way of a school's success."
It is slightly harder to state the case positively, and Rowan Moore argues that buildings can distract from the fact that teachers and their aims. "The announced discontinuation of building works might be seen as a return to the idea that the teacher is the center of the education universe."
Read the full story: Do Good Buildings Make For Better Educated Children?
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One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
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University of Cincinnati Online
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