Schools of the Future

Today I got the really really cool opportunity to sit on the jury for CEFPI's School of the Future Design Competition as part of School Building Week 2011. I, along with several other jurors in the educational/architectural/environmental realm, listened to the 6 finalists of the competition that included middle schoolers from across the country (Alaska!).

For the competition, middle schoolers had to design a school that would be high-performing, healthy, safe, sustainable, and community-engaging. The groups competed within their own schools, then at the state level, then regionally, and finally (today), nationally. And what they came up with was incredible! The ideas that these 6th, 7th, and 8th graders developed far exceeded my expectations. When I was in middle school, I was sending crickets down a T-shaped "maze" to see if they chose to go left or right at the end; not designing schools for the future that would be environmentally sustainable, allow students to thrive, and enhance community interaction. They used words in their presentations that I'm sure I had never used/heard of until late high school/college. If the future is in their hands, we're in good shape. Granted monetary value of incorporating and developing their ideas was not taken into account (as one competitor put it - they didn't want to stifle their creativity!), they assured us, and I don't doubt it, that their vertical wind mills, smart-boards, hydroponic gardens, etc, would be beneficial in the long run. Adorable.