Here is an interesting article written by one of my Feng Shui associates Vladek Bednarz, FSII I thought you’d like.
The many, many components needed for a positive and beneficial learning environment can be enhanced by feng shui. Let me share a few ideas with you.
Because viewing nature integrates the brain (makes it work better and more efficiently), we must supply the children with nature if school districts don’t provide it. When this is the case, provide the classrooms with paintings or posters of nature scenes. Another option is to bring in live plants. It’s interesting to know that in Denmark every school (and office building) must have windows facing nature.
Lighting is hugely important also. The all-pervasive fluorescent lights, computers, and televisions affect the brain negatively for several reasons. For instance, their humming and flickering throw the brain stem into an “alert” state which results in a series of physiological stress responses. Examples of just two of these stress responses are a tightening of the muscles and tendons on the backside of the body and a release of adrenalin.
Please remember that when the body is in a stress response, the only information which the brain can process relates to its safety and comfort. A large portion of the cerebrum (the thinking brain) goes out to lunch and there is very little or no cognitive functioning happening. Please know that in Scandinavia fluorescent lights are banned from the classrooms. Using
natural daylight or incandescent lighting whenever possible will improve the learning capacity of students.
Another negative aspect of fluorescent lights, computers, and televisions is their huge, powerful electromagnetic fields (EMF’s) which jar the human body’s EMF. This, in turn, disturbs the brain’s electrical activity and this affects our emotions and our capacity to learn and to function. Interestingly, there are schools in this country (and others) which restrict or eliminate computer/t.v. activity in concert with the homes of the
students (and wonder of wonders, reading scores then rise!!).
EMF’s (which function just like the microwaves which cook your food by boiling the water molecules in the food) and stress also dehydrate the body. It’s very important to give students access to water. Either allow the students to bring water bottles, or provide cups if you have faucets in the classroom, or provide water coolers. About 75% of our bodies consists of water. Water conducts electricity, and if you want the bodies and brains of the students (and everybody else’s!) to communicate quickly, smoothly, and efficiently they must have water. Did you know that even a measly 2% drop in water content will negatively affect the way you do a simple math problem?
Please note: by the time you feel thirst, you are already in a huge water deficit. Students need to sip frequently, but should drink more when working on a computer or watching television.
By the way, new computers off-gas for several months. New computers should be installed in classrooms in June, as soon as the children leave for summer vacation. The windows should then be thrown open and kept open until the students return in August/September. The off-gassing will not be complete, but the worst will be over. This is better than installing new computers in August. Also, computer placement is important. Computers are frequently places on circular tables or in back-to-back rows. This means the student facing the back of someone’s computer is getting zapped full-force by that computer’s EMF’s. Better to have the computers lined up against the
peripheral (and preferably external) walls of the classroom.
Another off-gassing problem is found with the popular (but not very healthy) component of classrooms: carpeting. The glue used in the backing off-gasses. Carpeting also is a marvelous hotel for dust mites, which can cause all sorts of allergic reactions. Of course, it’s difficult to convince the powers-that-be to tear up carpeting, but if your school is being renovated it’s wise to make that suggestion. And if you’re involved in the building of
a new school, certainly this would be a topic to raise.
Now, given that fluorescent lights, computers, and televisions are
omni-present in our classrooms, and we know that they negatively affect brain functioning, what is it that we can do to assist the children’s brains? Besides drinking water and seeing pictures of nature, we can make sure that the children get daily doses of music, usually in 15-20 minute maximal increments. Musicologist Don Campbell compiled excerpts of Mozart’s
music to activate, or to stimulate, or to relax the brain in his MOZART EFFECT COLLECTION (there’s one set for children and one set for adults). Gary Lamb has created several collections which also entrain the heart to the optimal 60 beats per minute, plus others geared for learning activities.
Furthermore, have the children do integrated movements which will simultaneously stimulate and, paradoxically, relax the brain, which is the state it must be in for optimal learning and functioning. An example of integrated movements can be found in Brain Gym® (Educational Kinesiology). Twenty-six simple movements and/or processes called balances and repatternings, can compensate for the above-mentioned factors in the classroom which interfere with normal electrical functioning of the brain. They’re quick and fun to do. And, of course, the teachers will benefit also! Brain Gym® movements target all three main parts of the brain to improve memory, concentration, cognitive functioning, coordination, and release stress.
So as you can see, when we cannot overhaul our classrooms or our teaching methods, we have tools available to us to improve the feng shui in our classrooms. As the energy moves in a different way, the children will be able to learn and function better.
I’m unsure if all these toys came with the children or if the toys have been purchased since they arrived or both. At this point that doesn’t matter. What matters most is keeping sanity and stopping chaos and creating uncluttered, calm and fun places for the children to play, learn and interact.