Plazas and Classrooms

The readings for the weekend were both very interesting. First, one idea that I had after reading Pueblo Style and Regional Architecture was why did the Puritans not build a plaza in their towns. The article explains that in European architecture, plazas are used to keep out unwanted sources. It seems clear to me that the Puritans were parochial and were not interested in adopting outside opinions. Why would their towns be more open, as opposed to fenced off? On a lighter note, after reading Understanding Ordinary Landscapes, I feel inclined to declare that I enjoy learning indoors. Not that the outdoors are not nice and beautiful, I just think think that the classroom aids in education. There many distractions outside (i.e. bugs), while the indoors allow students to focus and more efficiently and effectively master a subject matter. Even though AmCon is a course based largely on conversation, the classroom is the best place to have class, so that we can all hear each other. In summary, I think the Puritans should have had closed off plazas and I think that classrooms are great!