Student advice: Design a building that allows them to want to learn.....

A High Tech High student explaining how she presented a project through art to reflect an exploration of her knowledge of her country.

Students from High Tech High School in San Diego were certainly very clear about giving advice to school architects, facility planners and designers. As they shared key pieces of work with the large group of professionals, stating why it was important to them, they pleaded with passion: "Please build buildings that allow them (students) to want to learn, rather than containing the learning process!"
.
More specifically they suggested "Create somewhere relaxing and bright, so you can open the windows and see out, you know, somewhere you want to be 7 hours a day!"

.
Makes total sense doesn't it really - they were great and very committed to learning. As I have mentioned loads of times before in this blog, students really do know how they want to learn, but just need the chance.
.
Worryingly, in this very positive session, not all the delegates seemed to think that their message was that influential... in fact the students were far more convincing than at least one of the smaller sessions I went to!
.
We just have to engage the students as a key part of the planing and design process - not just the selected school council members, but real representation from the whole range of the student body!
.