by Renee Heiss
Do you feel like your classroom needs an uplift, but you don’t have the time or money to achieve your goal? Consider making a few Feng Shui adjustments. Your classroom will go from stuffy to energized with only a few changes because the "chi" or the energy of the room, is happy to circulate.
First, attack the clutter!
There is both obvious and disguised clutter in a classroom. Obvious clutter is what you try to put away before Parents' Night. Disguised clutter is the file cabinet filled with old papers, desk drawers that hold confiscated items from five years ago, and storage cabinets that have never been organized. Both forms of clutter affect the movement of chi, which is your primary goal for all the changes you will make. Chi makes us feel better about ourselves and others when it is able to circulate around the room!
Tackle the obvious clutter first, one piece at a time. Then move on to larger areas until you have a relatively clutter-free environment.
Second, consider the Feng Shui Bagua.
Look at the Feng Shui Bagua below. That chart organizes your classroom into sections. Which area is most in need of energizing? Determine that and then add Feng Shui remedies according to the shapes, colors, numbers, and elements in each block. If your room is not square, place the shape of your room on top of this Bagua. Whatever section is missing needs extra energizing by enhancing the areas around it. So simple, yet so effective!
Third, pay attention to yin and yang
Feng Shui is all about balance. Nothing epitomizes that concept more than the Yin/Yang symbol. Yin includes all the quiet things in life. Yang includes all the loud things. Too much of either is detrimental to the classroom, to the students, and to yourself. Look at this chart of Yin vs. Yang classroom elements:
Yin | Yang |
Subdued | Bright |
Quiet | Loud |
Female | Male |
Passive | Active |
Cold | Hot |
Feeling | Thinking |
Stillness | Movement |
Light colors | Dark colors |
Soft | Hard |
To see how this works, look at nature, which is in a constant state of flux between yin and yang, yet balanced because of those changes. Summer vs. Winter, Light vs. dark, birth vs. death, motion vs. sleep. We have come to accept these changes as normal.
Notice the Yin/Yang symbol. The Yin side is the cool blue, while the Yang is the hot red. Notice, also, that there is a small portion of yin in the yang and yang in the yin. There’s the balance – we can’t be all yin or all yang. That would be too boring or too exciting. In your classroom, strive to tone down the yang by lowering the lights and playing light music at appropriate times. You probably have more than enough yang, so there’s no need to add more for balance.
So, have fun reorganizing your classroom to be Feng Shui compatible so you can create a focused, harmonious learning environment for your students. Your classroom may not be 100% Feng Shui compliant - and that's okay! You'll drive yourself crazy if you do that. Just work on one area at a time... one week at a time. Focus on the neediest areas first like your desk or your files, and the rest will naturally follow.
For more Feng Shui classroom suggestions and an individual Feng Shui workshop, go to Teachers Pay Teachers.
Or check out my book on amazon.com: Feng Shui for the Classroom - 101 Easy-to-use Ideas
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