Left, progressive, experimental, modern classroom, three times as expensive as... Right, traditional, experienced, classic classroom. Which one do you think is most conducive to concentration and learning? 
We know that we learn best when we concentrate best. Children who concentrate better learn more. We help children by creating classrooms with muted colors, less glare and reflexes, with sound absorbing materials. Modern class rooms are built on the opposite principle.
The above photo was Shakespeare's classroom. Just like glass wall open plan schools are hugely stressful and hinders concentration, open offices lowers productivity, makes workers sick, raises stress. But we want this for our children? entrepreneur.com/article/327142
"An open office reduced face-to-face interactions by about 70%. In contrast, email messages increased by 50%. The open architecture seemed to trigger a withdrawal response, where co-workers craved less social contact and chose instead to send emails and instant messages."
So we build school rooms like we build offices and are surprised when little Kenny needs drugs to concentrate just like mom and dad needs theirs to unwind after a week in the office. And science people are some of the worst. theguardian.com/science/2017/n…
I am old enough to remember (and some of you are too) when open classrooms were the latest fad. But almost all of those schools were torn down or rebuilt to help students concentrate. Teachers hated them too. npr.org/sections/ed/20…
This is not controversial. Even low levels of ambient noise can have severe impacts on children's learning ability, and the younger the children are the more sensitive they are. This is why we never build schools next to train lines, highways, etc. nap.edu/read/11574/cha…
Visual distraction, while not as bad as noise distraction, also has severe effects on learning and concentration. psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/…
When dumb school boards go with the trends and fashions, they end up having to rebuild their schools. The money spent in the UK alone, year after year, to stop learning distractions, are huge.
Again the effect of interior design isn't controversial. It is why we have the stereotypical quiet library with the muted colors and the carpeted floors: built this way to reduce noise and distraction. But we build open school plans with glass walls for kids? How dumb can we get?
