There is a global debate regarding negative consequences of COVID-19 and its impact on emotional, social, and academic life of children. At the same time, visionaries and optimistic individuals see this pandemic as a huge opportunity to shape a new future for our younger generations. In the ‘School of Tomorrow’ (SOT) conference, held by Beacon House School System, award-winning architects from Japan and Denmark as well as educationists from Pakistan and New York participated in a discussion regarding obsolete school structures.
Read More: Raising Children during a Pandemic
Reimagining Pakistan’s Regressive Education System
The panelists on SOT discussed how COVID-19 has changed the way parents and educationists perceived student learning experience and how that change in perception makes ecology of present learning spaces ineffective for engaging students. To analysts in Pakistan, hearing Western educationists calling their education system outdated and ineffective makes one wonder about the regressive education system in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, the challenge is even graver as parents and educationists still consider traditional grading systems, competition and seating arrangement as a key to success. The non-traditional STEM schools and schools with IB system that promotes experience-based learning are still rare in the country and are often unaffordable.
This pandemic, however, has shown us how quickly we can shift on new technologies and methods of learning under pressure and thus, this article aims at highlighting the key issues and solutions presented by global leaders to shift the mindset about learning process and success as a society.
Why School Designs and Architecture Matter?
Rosan Bosch is founder and creative director of Rosan Bosch Studio that designs unique spaces for individuals to let them unfold their curiosity, creativity and imagination. Bosch during the SOT conference asserted that the discussion about significance of learning spaces and their architecture has become urgent as we need to realize today that aim of a learning institution is to enable students to explore better. We need to develop skills that cannot be developed in traditional school context. Ability to invent, being creative is being curbed by old structures and now schools need to rethink what their learning space is offering to students.
Bosch shared her projects to show how learning spaces can allow individual space for each type of student to roam around and explore their interest, independence.
Bosch also highlighted how children confined in their homes are being devoid of any outlet for their expression, projects or any area of interest. It is often said that playing is learning and architectures of schools can stimulate natural curiosity in children through play and this pandemic has provided an opportunity to redesign existing learning systems.
How environments frame learning experiences for children?
Takaharu Tezuka, president at Tezuka Architecture, has designed several innovative school structures in Japan. Mr. Tezuka, during the conference, emphasized on seeing children as they are and start redesigning schools based on their natural demands. He insisted on letting children play with soil, rocks and water without worrying about bacteria as the COVID-19 has revealed how staying indoors can drastically bring a decline in our immune systems. Tezuka showed one of his projects, a school without edges and indicated how even the movement of running children was spontaneous.
The discussion highlighted significance of open areas for children and freedom of movement in learning areas to create environment of exploration. Mr. Tezuka stressed on the need to create school structures that have more open areas for studying and learning as he rejects the silent, confined, organized and air-conditioned environments as natural stimulants for brain of students. Babur Habib, CEO of Portfolio School from New York, shared his approach to starting a school from scratch and showed how his school’s architecture and room designs promote application of learning rather than knowledge itself.
For instance, the wood workshop class is front room of school where kids are working on different projects. Such structures can instantly affect the mindset of children and shift it towards excitement for new ventures and practical application of concepts as they enter the premises.
Cost implications of futuristic learning spaces for Pakistan
While implementing such futuristic designs that allow combination of rethinking pedagogy skills and methodology sound remarkable, the question arises whether such ideas are applicable in countries like Pakistan. The answer is NO. Based on the expert discussion at SOT, it is imperative to look beyond the expensive exterior of the schools shown and dive deeply into the concept of changing mindsets about education. The futuristic approach to education does not depend on how expensive the architecture is but how classes are designed, how roaming places are available, how thinking spaces are available as work stations and how teachers understand the new approach to education.
One thing this pandemic has taught is that no specific space is a learning space. With number of kids at home, one can realize that any space can be turned into a learning space and same concept should be adopted by schools, to create small corners for different projects. There needs to be some places in schools that students can take for some time and make or build their projects. That is what student-centric is despite what most commercial schools claim. These steps can be taken by simply replacing combined tables with flexible desk furniture, room dividers, presentation spaces and many more.
Pakistani educationists should use this space to the best in educational arena created by COVID-19 by embracing the current change first and reimagining school spaces for future.
