Sagesse Kosche, Reporter
Graphic by Veronica Gass
Over the past couple years, students and teachers have become more aware of the effects of having windows versus having windows in classrooms. Many members of the NCHS community have varying perspectives on windows and the LED lights in our classes.
Teachers try to make their students feel at home and comfortable in their classrooms. “I want my students to feel at home in my classroom, and the LED lights are just unnatural. They’re jarring and so it doesn’t help to create that homey feeling,” said English teacher Tara Thomas.
Ms. Thomas admitted when she worked at Saxe she disliked the LED lighting, “I’d even turn off the LED lights when I had windows and the students preferred that, versus having them on and it being really jarring and uncomfortable,” Ms.Thomas said.
Photo by Sagesse Kosche
Ms.Thomas has a unique way of creating a welcoming classroom and helping her students to cope with the windowless-ness of her classroom. “At Saxe and when I came to the high school, I brought in lamps. Again, it’s not natural lighting, but it creates more of that homey feeling,” she said.
Previously, Ms.Thomas had other means of decoration. Ms.Thomas’ uncle, a carpenter, created large fake windows that she displayed in her old classrooms. “Behind the windows, I made these posters, and we would switch out the images. For example, we would do a sailboat in the spring to create that sense of openness, to create a natural surrounding,” she said.
Photo by Sagesse Kosche
In the beginning of the school year she attempted to bring out the lamps in a particularly talkative class to promote focused work. “I put two lamps on each group, turned off the lights, and turned on the lamps. I gave them the option of different types of lighting for the lamps, and they were able to change the lighting, I put on some soft music and they got right to work. It was like night and day,” Ms.Thomas said.
The lack of windows in so many of our classrooms breaks connection from the outside world. “I just kind of feel cut off from the weather and from what’s happening outside,” English teacher James Chesbro said.
Some students feel the difference between their windowless classrooms and their classrooms that have windows. “I definitely feel more engaged in classrooms with windows because it allows more natural light into the room and helps me focus,” said Sam Hart, NCHS Freshman. “I feel it adds more to the room and makes the room feel more cramped because there’s no windows, and you have stuff in the room that’s filling it up, so it makes you feel pretty enclosed and trapped in the room,” said Sam Hart.
Clearly, the lack of lights in NCHS classrooms causes some challenges for students and teachers but having these creative solutions can help to solve these issues and help students and teachers perform their best.
