Do you think colors affect students' behavior, learning?

This week's answers come from George Subiti's eighth-grade humanities class at Coronado K-8.

I believe that colors have many ways of working magic and wonders on kids all over the United States. Colors mainly lighten the spirits and give a child a better working environment and give it a lighthearted feeling. Depending on what the color is, it may affect the behavior. If the colors are soothing, then it will make learning more relaxing and may help one grasp concepts better. Yet bright, exciting colors may cause a more quick pace and stronger striving for learning. I know personally that I like soothing colors — it just helps me learn. A child's learning potential is definitely affected in a positive manner by the colors that are within the learning area.

Jacob Hunter, 13

The effect that painted walls has seems pretty amazing. Colors in rooms I've seemed to notice, not only in schools, gives off what seems to be a "good" or "happy" vibe. Acknowledging this, it seems that colored walls, not consciously, tend to draw kids in — they actually like being there in a way. So if kids like to be in the room, then that means it most likely helps kids learn better since they're in a more suitable environment. The behavior part is sort of different. Since they like their surroundings being in color, then they won't be as edgy and bored as much because colors seem to be more soothing.

Alyssa Alexander, 14

My opinion on teachers and students painting their walls is based on the rooms in my own school. All the rooms I'm in during school have painted walls. It creates a nice energy flow, and makes the room "comfy." We just enjoy being in the room more. My own room has blank walls, and I noticed how unproductive I am when it comes to homework as opposed to being in a room with painted walls.

Brittany Johnson, 13

Bright colors do affect how students act in the classroom. I believe it is because brighter colors make students think more positively, making them concentrate better and do their work better. The darker the colors, the more negatively students think. That is one of the big reasons students aren't as self-controlled in classrooms and don't do their work that well. So, colors really do affect how students act in a classroom. The brighter the better!

Emily Crawford, 13

What student wants to attend hours of tedious classes in grungy old rooms? What student wants to be forced to walk through miles of nauseatingly colorless walls? No student that is half sane would prefer the monotonous feng shui of the typical school to a clean place teeming with cheery colors and happy feelings. Give a student a jovial learning environment and something emotionally energizing to look at, and blossoming brains are sure to thrive. Colorful surroundings are the start of a colorful mind.

Elly Krepp, 14

Schools that paint their interior make the classrooms more fun. The classrooms are kind of boring when they are just plain white. I am more apt to learn if the walls are, for example, blue or red. In my opinion they are right when they say it increases attendance and decreases bad behavior. The colors also increase learning. You're going to pay attention more in a painted classroom than in a non-painted classroom. So if you pay attention more, you learn more. Behavior problems go down too, because a painted classroom, to me, makes me feel more settled and less like I'm at school. Painting your classroom makes good things happen and I prefer a painted classroom.

Alana Rasmussen, 13

I think that bright colors in schools are a good idea. It's said that bright colors stimulate the mind … somehow. It's also supposed to make people happier, cheerier and more peppy (but then again, we don't need any more peppy people in this school). If the colors are attractive and fun, then kids will want to go to school because there's not just white walls so that it looks like an insane asylum or something. It looks fun and interesting, like a meadow or mural of colors. It also tests some kids' imaginations because if they can see pictures in the colors, it might make them feel more like individuals instead of the mindless zombies that we all are on the inside. … School shouldn't be a white-walled prison; it should be a splash of inspiration to the mind.

Stephani Gilbert, 13

Through extensive research, I have come up with the following conclusion. As most of us know, color can affect people. Blue is relaxing when yellow is cheerful and an attention getter. When learning environments (such as the New York schools) have bright, warm and welcoming colors, it provides the students with great relaxation, and they want to remain in school. Each color will have or accomplish a certain purpose, and that purpose can cause the student's mood to change greatly. In conclusion, color can affect mood, which can decrease dropout rates and discipline problems and increase attendance.

Devan Lewis, 14