There is a saying in the world of graphic design and, specifically, page design that says, “the eye likes white space.” A reader shouldn’t have to struggle and strain to pick a sentence or a paragraph out of a jumble of competing images and words. That’s a tough maxim to balance against the importance of efficiency and the need to not consume one’s fair share of resources. In other words, don’t waste paper just because you want more white space.
Teaching in the inner-city school where I strolled the third floor and was responsible for middle school language arts meant making peace with the odd-shaped paper we received by donation from local businesses. One local print shop, in particular, supplied us with the bulk of our paper. It was great if you wanted odd colors and heavy stock. Not so great if you had something more like printer paper in mind.
With prime resources in high demand, you can bet we teachers made every effort to reduce our waste and reuse whatever paper we could. As someone prone to doodling on clean paper myself, it was important that I made sure my students did not draw on or deface paper they might see again.
Earth Day is nearly upon us. Careful and thoughtful use and reuse of classroom resources, including paper, is surely something you’re aware of on a constant basis. What are your tips for creating a green, earth-friendly classroom?
We are doing our part by collecting old magazines, junk mail and newspaper the whole month of April. We will drop all that we collect into the recycling bin at eh back of our school building.
My preschoolers write notes to each other on scrap paper…they totally love it!!
In my classroom the lead teacher and I cut papers that have been printed on one side into two pieces, so that our students can use them to draw on. We also recycle all of our papers, cans, and bottles in the classroom.