Brigada Eskwela: My Anime-Inspired Classroom

    It was a week after Brigada Eswkela 2015 that I decided to have a rigidon of my classroom. I didn't initially planned it since I am quite lazy due to the extreme heat of the summer, not to mention that the electrical line in my room is broken (I can't use the electric fan).
    As a teacher, I always believe that the physical structuring of the classroom greatly affects the learning of our students. A disorganized, untidy and congested classroom makes not a conducive learning environment. At the same time, as teachers, our classroom is our office. As much as possible, we want our workplace to be comfortable and quite homey for us. This makes our work efficient and less stressful amidst the tons of works we do everyday.
    Recently, the Department of Education released guidelines for classrooms. I don't know if there was a memo or something but I always hear these "guidelines" from the principals and other teachers. According to them, rooms should be painted with candle-light cream or light raw sienna. Other colors are not advisable. Second, bulletin boards and posters inside the classroom should be minimized if not removed. They wanted to make the room with less of these to avoid "distractions". Third, chairs should all face the chalkboard, so the use of other arrangements, like forming a U, chairs facing each other etc are not advisable. And wait, curtains are also not allowed.
    For me, these guidelines limit teachers to be creative with their classrooms. I know that there are colors which are not good for classroom uses but I think teachers should be given the freedom to design his or her classroom. I also am not a fan of rooms without anything on the walls. The bulletin boards reflect both the teacher and students' efforts to make the room lively and fun. That learning is "not boring". Frankly, the only place that I remember where pictures or anything on the walls are not allowed is the psychiatric ward, and our students are not pyschos right? I quite agree with the arrangement of chairs that it should be facing the chalkboard. I find the U-shaped arrangement where students face each other distracting. Students would have the chance to talk or do facial signals, thus would not listen to the teacher. However, sitting/chair arrangement should be flexible with respect to the objective or the activity of the day's lesson. About the curtains, I love having them in the classroom. It enhances the physical appearance of the classroom and at the same time regulates the amount of light in the classroom.
    Here are some snapshots in my classroom. As you can see, I am an otaku so you can see elements of anime 360 degrees...hehe...Obviously, you see some violations about the above-stated guidelines..and I don't care...hehehe

Hello Natsu!!!

Hi Alice!!!