By Steve Tuit and Abby Zwart Where are you right now? There’s a good chance you’re in your classroom, a space you spend countless hours in each year. Look around. What’s on your walls? Student work? Anchor charts? Inspirational posters? Senior photos? The daily schedule? How are your desks or tables or exercise balls or […]
Every morning in schools across America eager children enter the front door, walk down the hall to their classrooms, and are greeted by posters that say “Welcome” or “It’s a Great Day for Learning” or maybe your favorite Bible verse. There might be an apple tree on the door, with students’ names on each apple. […]
We live in a noisy world that seems determined to capture the attention and hearts of children. Noise is ubiquitous! Canned music in stores and on elevators, television at the airport or in restaurants or the doctor’s office, leaf blowers, traffic, siblings, dogs, and on and on. . . . Quiet is a rare experience […]
Peter Baldwin is President of AMDG Architecture in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he has worked for over 25 years. In the past 12 years the firm has worked on educational buildings for Christian educational institutions throughout the Midwest. Peter’s passion for his work stems from the belief that architecture has the power to build community […]
Geographer Mark Bjelland notes that a space is simply a set of geographic coordinates, whereas a place is a location that has become meaningful through human habitation. He goes on to define places as having three elements: (1) a material setting, (2) a set of social relationships, and (3) lived experiences that impart personal and […]
As an architect, design matters. The design of a building or a place shapes how people experience the environment in which they reside. Conversely, space that is poorly designed for its intended use negatively affects a person’s experience. As a follower of Christ, design matters. It is evident in Scripture that design mattered to the […]
by Jo-Ann Van Reeuwyk with Becca Brasser, John Booy, Mark Ponstine, and Frency Frans How do we make or miss opportunities to design our teaching spaces as safe places? If we trust that places and pedagogical practices are marked by hospitality, safety, and nurturing, then how much attention should we give the physical spaces themselves? […]
Spaces where learners flourish are spaces of discovery and possibility, where imagination and creativity are nurtured, where learners engage deeply and meaningfully with each other and the world, where learners have room to discover and pursue their passions under the loving guidance of adults who share the learning space. I believe most good teachers want […]