If these bare walls could talk

In another top-down directive that seemingly came out of nowhere, the Department of Education (DepEd) ordered all public school classrooms to strip off “all unnecessary artwork, decorations, tarpaulin, and posters.” While some wondered what would be considered “unnecessary” and educators cautioned against the literal implementation of DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2023, DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte reiterated in media interviews that everything must be removed from classroom walls.

Someone in DepEd must have come across the Bare Walls Theory and was so eager to apply it that they only bothered to read the title without knowing what the theory actually recommends. The theory came from a small-scale study of kindergarteners that saw that overly decorated classrooms prove to be too distracting, leading to lower test performance. However, it must be noted that this study only looked at 24 kindergarteners in a brief simulated learning environment, not in a real school setting over a prolonged period. The authors of the study themselves do not recommend completely bare walls but to simply be more deliberate and discerning when decorating classrooms.

This is the problem with a ban approach, something I’ve been railing against throughout most of my tenure with this column. By doing a blanket ban on decorations for the classroom, we ended up throwing the baby out with the bathwater by removing vital tools and aids for learning. While focus and concentration seem to be the priority intent behind the order, it failed to take into account that engagement and motivation is just as important—if not the prerequisite for focus and concentration themselves.

For students to excel and maximize their learning in school, they must first WANT to be in school. School refusal and nonattendance—leading to drop-outs—has always been a longstanding problem for public education. Therefore, we must prioritize student engagement and motivation. It is much easier to concentrate and learn when they enjoy their environment as well as the lessons at hand. In aid of this, more than just the absolute number of decorations in the classroom, it is the ownership and personal relevance of the decorations that would make a more significant positive impact for students. If the decorations are co-created with the children (e.g., their artwork) and they have a say in what their classrooms can look like, they are more likely to be engaged with the materials (and less likely to deface them!). Moreover, if the decorations are directly and temporally relevant to what they are learning, they are more likely to use them as learning tools. Educational materials in the classroom also help in knowledge retention to reinforce lectures. If anything, we want our students to interact with the educational decorations rather than ignore them.

Classroom decorations are not just to aid in lessons. For a lot of students, schools serve as their second home. For children who do not have the luxury of exclusive, child-friendly spaces at home, school is an opportunity to be in an environment well-suited for their needs. A “quiet corner” with books allows children to provide themselves a break whenever they are overwhelmed or feel too much academic pressure. It is also a place they can learn to enjoy just being with themselves. Self-soothing and emotion regulation, both vital life skills, can be learned from a simple reading nook. Diverse tactile environments such as carpets and textured decorations also provide another form of much-needed sensory regulation.

My other concern about the inflexibility of the bare walls order is that it does not take into account the developmental needs of each student. While some exceptional students can thrive regardless of the environment they’re in, most students will benefit from a particular type of environment. With clients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for example, we put up visual reminders of tasks and schedules to help them develop their planning and organization skills as without them, they are likely to forget. We put up age-appropriate “emotion check-in” boards so that children will learn to tune in to how they’re feeling and express them appropriately.

Each grade level will also have different concentration and engagement needs. For kindergarten, more than academic focus, we need to encourage them to interact effectively with environments that include physical, peers, and teacher. Focusing on the teacher or the adult in the room should not be the sole priority in education. Classroom design, therefore, is an especially important factor in kindergarten learning. As grade levels progress, the need for academic focus increases and they are less likely to be distracted by decorations.

If only these bare walls could talk, they will tell you that they can be a vital part of our children’s learning.

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