Having invited a new American friend of mine to our English language practice class, I was excited to hear her impressions. She was quite positive about the class itself, about our level of English, but had quite a poor opinion on the esthetics and design of the department and the classroom. She was surprised to see old, uncomfortable desks and chairs, empty classrooms, no decorations. Her remark startled me, it came unexpected, and I had no abrupt ideas to contradict her. The following essay is to evaluate her statement. My non-concealed purpose is to find the advantages of our department image and convince her how great it feels to be member of this faculty.
On our way to the department we can't stop praising the idea that our department has such a beautiful scenery onto the city. It is a lot of fun to run up the hill towards the building while running out of breath as well. With a well-chosen cursory glance we might discover a beautiful white satellite dish on top of our department. More intelligent people would start wondering about its practical value, but the final realization must be that it is for decoration - if not for the exclusive property of the leader of the department. While meditating on its efficacy we arrive at the entrance of building "D". The next happy moment is to realize that the elevator has just left, which offers us some more pleasant minutes up to the fifth floor. That explains the nicest and strongest legs of girls attending the English department The logical argument for the placement of our department into top position is probably its popularity, since our is the most numerous department of all the faculties. To enhance the joy of arriving at our destination we might be lucky enough to notice our teacher walking towards the classroom. At this point we still have a good chance of being the winners with a last effort in running and thus preceding the comfortably walking tutor.
Those students who happened to miss this excitement and are on time or are too late to risk going in can find another type of compensation: the walls offer a wonderful spare-time with a wide range of topics. The variety of information must satisfy all students with interest in up-to-date or expired deadlines, canceled classes and events.
The deep Puritanism of the furniture placed in the corridor reveals the freedom of choice. Everybody is allowed to identify with it or bring any pieces that would break the unity of this style. The total number of chairs adds up to 3, while we are owners of one table too. Of course those rebels who delay to acknowledge the conformity offered by these three chairs should think about the mess more chairs- and so- more talking students would impose on the classroom work. At times some extremists even try to reduce this number because of the big disturbance those chatting people cause in the teaching process.
Other simple pieces of decoration are the two carpets laid on the floor. Only two, since more carpets, especially if from a third style, would be non-esthetic. In addition, further obstacles are not needed for the rushing students who always stumble over those two crumpled carpets.
The large window at the end of the corridor might be tempting so it is optimal for overtasked students to make a decision whether to choose the easier way of escaping to the revealing garden that offers complete relaxation instead of the stressful classroom situation. The open window gives a chance for a quicker way of leaving the department as a parachute, while for some more balanced people provides fresh mountain air.
All those who can resist all that temptation will enter one of the uniform classrooms. The range of colors will tranquilize anxious participants, as the only variety, white, is said to have a relaxing effect. Even our board is white instead of the mourning-type black color. There is no need to bother with the jarring sound of the chalk given usually by left-handers and some evil-minded students and with the dry touch of chalky hands any more. The department uses ultra-modern and well-designed whiteboards. There is a little box attached to the board which most of us can't really honor yet due to the lack of instructions. Some tricky teachers even utilized the box for cleaning the board with it. The distinct parts in the box suggest that there might have been some writing instruments inside. The most creative ones in the teaching staff would remember to take their own pens the other time. Unfortunately noone seems to consider the fact, that hardly any pens beyond the age of a week can elicit visible characters. Disappointed people should keep in mind that the same system works in the Western countries too.
Everything else also looks modern. All recent teaching methodologies expect semi-circular arrangement of chairs. This expectation is almost fulfilled, although the curve seems to be a little straight. We can't trace any remains from the teacher's platform either. It might seem hard at times to get sight of some teachers though, especially of those who enjoy the hiding aspect of the large table right in front of them. Still, most of us get a nice view on the teacher and vice versa, except for those students who happen to read or write some homework for their next class. The tolerance we get from the teacher by ignoring the corners of the semi-circular placement is appreciated a lot.
Another clue for the modernity of the classroom is a complete set of bathroom appliances in the back part of the room. For some too demanding students it might not be easy in all cases, as they would start searching for such auxiliary and so less important parts as the towel or in some special cases the head of the tap. We shall be proud to present all these facilities to our guests showing how modern our classrooms look.
The comfort level is overall perfect. The soft touch of the wooden chairs helps us to forget about daydreaming and to concentrate on the much more interesting and useful lesson. Tiny little splinters coming out of the chairs enable us to throw our old stockings away and get a nicer pair instead. Also splinters in bleeding fingers give a chance to excuse ourselves and leave the class. The mobility of desks is an extremely important factor, and owing to the large available space, people with less attraction towards each other or those who can't bear the intimacy can pull their desks away up to 3 centimeters.
The limited number of decoration on the walls do not let us get distracted from the lesson, and it unintentionally draws our attention to the teacher. It also forces us to memorize all data that are important and that is never learnt by those students in other universities who can spy the information from the walls.
I can't question the intentionality of having some dirt and rubbish on the floor and in the desks. It is part of the training. Teachers should get used to the environment that is found in schools. Also the small windows were designed this way in order to prepare us to similar conditions in our teaching practice. Whoever is too sensitive to smells should despair of choosing this profession in time or train himself gradually to the intensity of human sweat. The degree of smells can be manipulated by the teacher though and should be considered in creating too much tension and excitement.
Our teachers' solidarity with their future colleagues is to be appreciated as well. Their staff-rooms reflect the same Puritan principles strengthening the unified spirit of the whole department. They can't be labeled to be over-demanding, their small desks and broken chairs correspond to the high quality of students' furniture. It is a nice gesture from them to steer clear of competition. This is how it should be anywhere else. Even the director's office agrees to the principle of unity, so every guest or sponsor would probably understand the needs of the department and popularize its contemplation in other universities as well.
The lavatories are not co-educated any more, the two sexes may take their time separately. The use of the toilets demands some creativity from future teachers to train them for unexpected events. E.g. we are capable of developing new ways for locking the door or finding the non-existing pull of the toilet.
The computer-room has a great design for at least 15 people. According to the department policy no students are allowed in without any official permission. This is quite logical, since the two teachers who regularly use the computers need some space for working freely. Also, they take care of our morals by keeping us away from the secret files on the Internet.
As a fourth year student of the English department I proudly declare the high niveau of the design of the whole department, including the outside and inside arrangement and all the equipment. I can't wait to see my American friend to convince her of the priorities we enjoy by studying in this environment and I welcome all her objections. Without question she will have to envy us. How great it is to be an English major!
No comments:
Post a Comment