Color Schemes
Perhaps, no more thoughtless injury is done the eyes of pupils than that caused by the choosing of unwise color schemes for papering and painting the wall of school-rooms. In short, to make a school-room look cheerful, pink, yellow, and often red are chosen as the colors that will produce the desired effect. The motive is all right, but the cheerfulness is far outweighed by actual harm done the eyes of the pupils. Aside from the bad effect of bright colors on the eyes, there is a tendency to increase restlessness on the part of the pupils by their use. Many nervous pupils are irritated by striking surroundings. A school-room in which colors and furnishings are harmoniously blended so as to obtain soft contrasts, always produces quiet and will have a restful effect upon all pupils. No color is better than a very soft green, with ceiling just tinged with green. Nature for the greatest part of the year has green in her color arrangement. It is restful to the eyes. Again, taking a suggestion from Nature, her grays are soft and free from sharp contrasts. In papering or painting walls gray, care must be exercised, not to select a gray that is too dark; it will have a tendency to make the school-room appear dreary. Another good color is tan. Great care must be exercised in using tan, since, in most cases it is too bright. Blue is one of Nature’s colors, but as a rule blue in any shade is not suitable for school-room walls. The author is aware of the fact that thousands of schools have white walls. This should not be. Ten cents worth of green coloring matter in the hands of a decorator will give a suitable tint to a school-room interior.