Teachers spend seven hours a day in their rooms, plus coming early and staying late. As a student, sitting in different classrooms for many hours may cause you to look around. Students may notice certain banners, souvenirs, etc. Have you ever wondered why they’re there?
“I think it’s a way of conveying your personality. Like you said, we spend a lot of time in there, but also kids spend a lot of time in there,” Teacher Derek Berg said.
Staying focused and connected to the class you are in is important. Most of the time classroom decor relates to the subject at hand. Berg finds that putting up more personal decorations also gives the student a connection to the class.
“If they’re sitting there and they’re seeing those aspects of a teacher’s hobby, it just gives them an insight into what the teacher is into,” Berg said.
Junior Sydney Allison who is in Berg’s third hour Environmental Ed class describes what intrigues her in the classroom,
“He has a bookshelf behind him that he wants you to pick up and start reading random books. He likes to ask you about books you are reading. So it feels like you can make that connection to your teacher,” Allison said.
Another unique aspect of his classroom is the animals. That’s what’s most prominent about the class that students also love.
“It feels like there’s life all around you, because there’s so many animals, and they’re all over the walls and in the middle of the classroom, and you can get up during class and just pick up any animal that you want to hang out with,” Allison said.
Berg likes teaching a class with animals,
“It just adds an element of, you know, we have to keep the room clean, but we also take the animals out and interact with them. So again, compared to a regular classroom, there’s a lot more unpredictability,” Berg said.
Another particular classroom is room 370, the French classroom. It’s a particularly bigger classroom at South, which leaves lots of room for interesting ornaments.
“She has this photo wall of a bunch of photos from when a few students went to France last year. I think it’s great to see French culture being connected to the students of South,” sophomore Payton Cogan said.
French teacher, Madam Erin Schneider, explains how she uses all her classroom space.
“I want when students come in, I want them to feel like they’re in a different place. You know, they’re in a different culture, and they have images of lots of different French speaking places, not just France but a lot of symbols of the French speaking world,” Schneider said.
The debate room also has interesting decorations.
“I really like it because every year we have a painting night where the debaters can make their own paintings, and we have a huge wall of those cool paintings,” sophomore Teddy Imhoff said.
Carolyn Cook, the debate teacher, explains this tradition.
“I like the paintings because the students make them and they give the classroom personality and make it feel welcoming and like the students have ownership over the space,” Cook said.