Walking in from the hallway into Mrs. Dymond’s room, the lights go from really bright to dim. The vibe instantly changes. Why is that important? 

“I don’t know if it has to do with the lighting or just the fact that it’s Mrs. Dymond’s room and she always makes me personally feel comfortable, but every time I walk in here I just feel like I can release any burdens I have and emotionally try to calm down a little bit,” said Jocelyne Berrios, a senior and one of Mrs. Dymond’s students. 

A comfortable school environment is important for students. Why? Student stress is definitely real. Out of a scale 1-10, Teens in general experience a rate of 5.8 of often or always feeling stressed. High school students experience 75% of often or always feeling stressed, according to an article written on Research.com 

Back to asking why. According to “The Importance of Student Stress and Comfort” article on Martin Public Seating, “When schools use furniture that makes students feel uncomfortable, such as painful seating and desks that are the wrong size, it can irritate them and cause bad moods, impeding their focus.” 

The comfortable furniture plays a very big role in the comfort of students. The benefits of comfortability include academic achievement and engagement. Students may want to be more involved when they feel comfortable. 

Mrs. Dymond has a reading room, a room where you can relax, think positive thoughts, do schoolwork and read. 

“I am very lucky. Because I run the Journalism program, I had a computer lab. I have turned that lab into a reading room,” said Mrs. Dymond, English teacher.

I just like how much she furnished it to fit her students’ needs. A lot of students that do come back here need a moment to themselves. There are snacks if you’re hungry, the lights are very dim and you can feel like you’re at home. It’s very quiet also,” said Jocelyne. 

Teachers listening to their students’ needs deepens student learning. The students may want to engage more when they know the teacher is actually listening to their needs. Just like Mrs. Dymond.  

 Physical and emotional comfort ease stress. Teachers who encourage students to talk to them about any of their feelings also play a part in decreasing school stress. Who wants to go somewhere they don’t feel comfortable in any way?