subject: Using Feng Shui For Education [print this page] Education is a place where innovation is commonly accepted. We have seen fixed rows and rote memorization give way to modular concepts and critical thinking. Perhaps it is time for something like Feng Shui for education to take a turn.
Feng Shui has normally been found in home decorating. It uses some fixed principles to unit various aspects of a room or building. The idea is to make the environment as healthy and supportive as possible.
There was a great interest in this idea from the business community when cubicles came to be seen as oppressive. While that interest seems to wax and wane, it has never completely disappeared. It is even considered quite common these days.
So, this is merely a move from the domestic and business setting, it has succeeded in historically, to the educational arena. Whether it can be considered supportive of education or just excellent design is probably not crucial. If it makes a classroom appear more accessible to learning few will be complaining. The whole idea of providing an environment conducive to learning is the point of this practice.
A person who practices this Eastern skill is trained to view areas in quadrants. They are shown how to maximize the flow of energy through these quadrants. They are taught to avoid certain negatively perceived angles and structures. When avoidance is not possible then other means, like mirrors or fabric, are used to soften the impact of the negatives.
Should a classroom seem intimidating or claustrophobic, the a practitioner would attempt to change the energy flow to remove those feelings. Maybe a mirror would be placed to reflect the bad feelings out the entrance.
In the East, this art pervades all aspects of life from the design of a textbook to the way a piece of clothing is sewn together. In the West, it more often is used in isolation. Still it is likely that a room that makes you feel particularly comfortable would be following the basic rules of Feng Shui even if not intentionally.
In the East it is bound up in ritual and ceremony. But here, there are books that give the basics in a quite straightforward list of things to do and things to avoid. Much the way meditation has been packaged for the western mind, this skill has been put into steps rather than a ceremony.
The jury is still out on just how affective this type of classroom organization and design will be. But it is hoped that classrooms would be immediately welcoming and inspiring rather than intimidating and fearful. Who would not prefer feeling welcome to feeling nervous?
It would certainly be considered a success if walking into a classroom created a sense of interest instead of apathy. Who would mind if Feng Shui for education resulted in happy, eager learners? Perhaps this is merely the next most reasonable place for it to be used. Maybe a pleasing classroom will make for students eager to please.
