The appearance of a teacher, a student, a principal; that of a schoolyard, a building, a piece of equipment; that of a textbook, a website, a logo, a document; that of a neighborhood, a village, a landscape, a tree, a field, an animal - all these appearances reflect many things, such as age, importance, physical condition, existing conventions, state of mind, functions, abilities and even prejudices.
Appearance is very important in many fields, starting with marketing, but even there, some people make sobriety their trademark. In education, we recognize the appeal of a well-presented manual or website where pedagogical functions are supported by design, far from flashy productions that scatter attention rather than direct it.
But even with make-up, appearance reveals as much what's being hidden as what's being emphasized, what's being attracted and what's being intimidated. A feedback loop reinforces appearance according to its effects; the more it counts, the better we take care of it. A neglected appearance is universally rejected because it reflects a state of non-optimal physical, functional or emotional health. For example, however frightening it may have been, once the punk aesthetic began to be nurtured, it became attractive to a certain clientele. In nature, stinking plants take care of their smell for their favorite flies.
The important thing is to take care of what you want to reflect in whose eyes, a mix of intentions and sensibilities. Each element used can both carry meaning and perform a function through style, material, accessory, position...
Analysis of the many effects of appearance in education prompts us to reconsider its uses.
Enjoy your reading
Denys Lamontagne - [email protected]
Illustration: Rawpixel - DepositPhotos
