Any freshman who had Mrs. Williams as an English teacher knows about the cozy blankets and welcoming lamps that she kept in her room to make her classroom feel comfortable.

However, incoming freshmen will never experience them.

Over the summer, Pembroke Academy saw a large and unfortunate change. With the school and state inspections this year, teachers were forced to limit the amount of decorations in their classrooms.

But why should the students learning environment suffer?

Mrs. Williams’ room is not the only one who has been affected. Classroom are not allowed to have posters or pictures taped to the wall above a certain point and nothing is allowed to hang from the ceiling or off the televisions and projectors.

Posters or pictures have always brought life and light to school classrooms and provided some sort of comfort to students.

According to Dr. Sheryl Rinishch, the dean at the College of Education at Concordia University-Portland, high-quality environments have been know to “help children feel safe, secure, and valued.”

Studies support this claim, showing that the student’s self-esteem can increase in comforting environments, which will encourage students to be more active learners and to engage in the learning process.

Classrooms with bare walls and bright lighting have the opposite effect. It makes it feel more like a prison.  

To a lot of students, school is a prison, and the fact that the fire codes has managed to destroy the small amount of color teachers have brought into the classroom should not go unnoticed.