A SCHOOL is a building with classrooms while a classroom is a building with four walls with the future in it. It is the repository of knowledge and skill where the process of teaching and learning takes place between the teacher and students, undisturbed by outside distractions.
A classroom plays a major role in the teaching and learning process, and it sets the tone and climate for a conducive learning environment.
The average classroom in a primary and secondary public school is a four-walled structure with two doors and glass windows. There are tables and chairs, a whiteboard or chalkboard, several notice- boards and a cupboard or a book rack.
The room is lighted with a few fluorescent lights and fans provide some ventilation. Some classrooms are equipped with LCD projectors and a screen mounted on the wall.
These classrooms are neither big nor small. A normal classroom can accommodate 20 to 25 pupils. But, most classrooms are crammed with 30 to 40 pupils, with little space to move around.
This is the image of a typical Malaysian classroom. However, these rooms have not changed much over the years. As such, I believe that classrooms in public schools should be refurbished and given a new look.
As our climate is hot and humid, a few fans in a classroom cannot provide the necessary ventilation to cool the room.
Walk into a primary or secondary public school classroom after recess and you can feel the heat inside it which is likened to a sauna, as it is not only hot, but also stuffy.
The situation is made even worse when the pupils go back into their classrooms sweating profusely after playing during recess.
The same situation also happens when they return to the room after their Physical Education lesson.
The stench of sweat permeates the room, and it is virtually an uphill task for a teacher to teach under these hot, sweaty, sticky conditions.
Thus, it is time that we transform the infrastructure of our local classroom and provide air-conditioners to all them. As we enter the 21st century, we need modern and state-of-the-art classrooms for our children.
It is time that the infrastructure and facilities in public schools be upgraded to improve the learning and teaching process.
The layout, design and decor of a classroom has a major effect on the teaching experience. Good lighting, furniture and ventilation, likewise, influence factors, such as a pupil’s attention span.
Some schools even divide a classroom with cardboards as partitions due to lack of space.
The upgrading of these infrastructure would help motivate teachers to be more committed and dedicated in their teaching and learning.
The traditional classroom has to be transformed to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
A conducive classroom helps play a fundamental and paramount role in the teaching and learning process.
The atmosphere of classrooms should make the children run to school and walk home, rather than make them walk to school and run home.
Samuel Yesuiah, Seremban, Negri Sembilan