A Classroom for Living (1954)

There's certainly no shortage of articles advising teachers on how to best create an inviting classroom conducive to learning. But looking back at Lucy Nulton's treatise on the topic, "A Classroom for Living," from the February 1954 Educational Leadership, it's hard not to think her treatment was truly original.

Read the article: A Classroom for Living (PDF)

Opening with the question, "What teacher has not longed for a pleasanter, more effective classroom?" Nulton paints an evocative picture of a classroom as it exists before the application of her advice. In this troubled classroom, everything is dark, dank, dusty—and did she mention dark? "The floor reeks of generations of floor oil and dust down. (No child or teacher dare sit there. Be careful not to drop your handkerchief or a paper you want to keep clean.)"

Such a dismal learning environment is also littered with the broken spirits of past students. "The walls are not all that bear scars; there are the spirits of the children—imagination snuffed out, resentment, mean words, harsh acts pressed in." Fortunately, not all is doom and gloom: Fulton's florid prose quickly transitions to the upbeat, thanks to cleaning, painting, community involvement, and lots of verve. For a take on designing and maintaining a classroom that's both useful and whimsical, Fulton's writing stands the test of time.

In "My Back Pages," we look at important issues through the historical lens of the Educational Leadership archives. ASCD members can access EL issues from 1943 to the present by signing in at www.ascd.org.