Maybe It's Because I'm Forced to Be Here

One of the greatest examples of dual purpose that is still very much around and present is the classroom. Classrooms are extremely versatile places: they are shaped intensely both by the creator and the interpreter (a.k.a. the teacher and the student). Many of us feel a certain way even just stepping through the door, and much can be taken away from not only the decorations strung about the walls, but the very person who has hung them up.

Imagine you're walking into your least favorite class, at the very end of the day. A sudden feeling of distress, an "oh crap, did I finish my homework?" races through your mind, and you just can't help but stare at the clock placed conveniently in front of you, and wait for time to pass. But, you're supposed to have a better attitude, right? This is your center of learning, the key to the rest of your future; although you can't help but feel differently when the teacher apathetically begins their lecture and the tacky educational posters seem to be more mocking than motivating. Believe it or not, this mundane everyday chore is some sort of organized visual argument. What exactly is it that the teacher has set up around the room to try and make their less than enthusiastic students somehow feel energized enough to learn?

You know those posters that have really generic philosophical quotes on them about learning, which are accompanied by a picture of an animal? Albeit being extremely basic, their presence alone creates a visual argument in the classroom. By the teacher hanging them up, you might think: "Wow, they really want us to do well (and also have a dry sense of humor)." And this is exactly the type of message they want taken away from this; it's a small boost for their ethos. Some teachers like to hang model students' work up on their board, making sure everyone knows that if they can achieve excellence, so can you. Even just the organization of the room plays a big role in ethos: a disorganized classroom reflects poorly on the teacher, and upon a student first seeing this, they'll instantly dismiss the class as unimportant, or irrelevant. After all, if the teacher doesn't care, why should they?

Teachers love to believe that everyone is as passionate and bent on education as they are, but that is often not the case. And it can be argued that even changing the classroom would provide a fix to this. Personally, I can say a classroom that is set up in a seminar-like manner quells my fears much better than one set up in cookie cutter rows. Although sometimes unkempt, awkward, or just plain bland, the medium definitely is the massage.