Architects and builders probably don't consider what a teacher will do when the lights go out in a windowless classroom.
Perhaps a classroom with no windows means fewer distractions day-to-day, but brief distraction of a power outage can more than compensate for the days with no gaze at another world. The teacher must have a contingency plan for the sudden darkness that requires directing 35 high school teenagers who seem to regress substantially in maturity when the lights go out. The is even more unthinkable in a middle school and probable most manageable in an elementary.It was a dark Manti High School that I visited. The electric power had just gone out as I entered the building. Teachers with flashlights lead students out of dark classrooms into halls with the dim benefit of translucent skylights. Students were to sit in the halls until decisions were made about what to do.
I couldn't help but overhear the wishes that the blackout may permanent or at least require that school be dismissed for the day. I wouldn't want to speculate on whether these wishes came from students or faculty. "Since lunch has started, they may count this as a day of school and we won't have to make it up if they have to send us home."
The comments clearly suggested that the problem with the lights was an obvious opportunity.
It occurred to me that education must be different than most commodities. It would be a strange consumer that would pay for three bags of groceries at the checkout stand and then purposely leave one sack behind, but students seemed willing to not collect a day of school that had been paid for in advance. Failed lights seemed reason to leave behind something already purchased.
There was a moan in unison as the lights flickered on. After an instant of recognition of the obvious, some students stampeded for the cafeteria while others sauntered for classrooms. I met with some students who were giving up lunch to discuss stories they were writing.
Although these students were very motivated, some just couldn't seem to come up with a possible idea for story and wanted some ideas from me. I suggested that since they seemed to be looking for a plot, that the best stories were written from real events and that they should look at their own unique world experiences.
I suggested that they start with the events of the day and consider whether or not there was a story in any of these events waiting to be written.
Suggestions were a bit slow in coming at first but a few were cautiously put forward. No student suggested that there might be a good story in the event that had taken place in the previous minutes.
Even though the lights were out long enough for jokes, pranks, speculation about the cause and whether or not they would be caught or punished, and hypothetical plans for other mysterious power outages, no one noticed that there might be a story in the event.
It may be that the skill of really noticing the world can't be taught. Perhaps we are both too close and too far away from some events to notice or to consider the lesson to be learned or the humor of the moment.
Teachers and administrators during the 20-minute outage were busy considering options, locating flashlights and trying to determine if the power problem was local or general. Students were caught up in speculation. It is ironic that as soon as the light came back on that the event was compartmentalized and closed and life went on as usual. Nothing had happened exciting enough for students to write about. The fodder that was created may not even make an exciting newspaper column. The experience does suggest that part of school and learning is noticing and experiencing the world.