HOTLB: Why do teachers decorate their rooms?
The Samohi / Yaretzi Presa
Mr. Koehler sits in his chair, pondering his next assignment for his AP Lang students.
Having greenery exposed to his students, AP Lang and AVID teacher Kyle Koehler shared his thought process behind his room. “I really wanted to make sure that whatever my room ended up being that it was someplace that I felt comfortable,” Koehler said. “I think by proxy decorating my room was kind of me designing for the high school student I was.” Capturing wealthy plants distributed around the room, Koehler shared where it all began.“I constantly had all these plants, from COVID and all of them are like propagations, so I filled up each table with one,” Koehler said. “At the end of every year, I always try to give all my plants away at each table to a student.”
The Samohi / Yaretzi Presa
Mr. Barraza stands next to a Hamlet painting created by a student while holding a mask inspired by Native American literature.
Across campus in the Discovery building, AP Lit teacher Pete Barraza shared his aim to stage his admiration for previous students’ artwork pieces for essays and projects they worked on. “I put up students’ artwork as a way of honoring them, and it’s kind of like a response to the literature we’ve read in class. So many of these pieces have been remarkable displays by students over the years,” Barraza said. “It’s a reminder for me to show students what great pieces come from their investment and their readings that art can come in different forms. I think students see that the literature extends beyond the classroom and to other types of art.”
The Samohi / Yaretzi Presa
Mr. Thun holds one of his favorite gifts from a student who was inspired by a video shown in class about the way cats dream.
Being famously known for his decorum of cat artwork, AP Psychology teacher Charles Thun shared his specific intent for displaying documentary posters. “I have posters of psychology-related documentaries and movies on the walls. We don’t watch all of them, but after the AP exam, we’ll take a look if we can” Thun said. “It inspires students to look into psychology a bit more.” Being gifted artwork from students throughout the years, Thun shared some of his favorite pieces displayed in the classroom. “I like cats a lot. Over the years, I’ve had students give me cat artwork that I put all over the walls,” Thun said. “A student was inspired by a video I showed in class about a cat that had its brain surgically altered. The video was about an experimenter who removed part of the pons (structure in the brainstem), making it so the cat acted out its dreams.
The Samohi / Yaretzi Presa
Mr. Ledford shared one of his most prized possessions: In 2016, he submitted one of his students artwork to the New York Times Magazine, and got published in the September issue.
Within the presence of photographs everywhere, photography teacher Martin Ledford shared the meaning behind his wall of letters.“I have a personal wall that means a lot to me. There are nice thank-you letters for being their teacher. On days that are difficult, I like to lookup there and remind myself that people got something from the classroom,” Ledford said. “That’s really helpful because some days can below, so it’s a nice way to remind myself I can have good days.” While having an emotional supportive momentum to keep striving toward, Ledford also shared his philosophy behind the camera of the Polaroid. “I have a wall of Polaroids of students which they like. They love seeing the prints, the physical part, and the analog. The camera becomes universal regardless of where you are in your life. Emotionally or educationally, photography is its own language,” Ledford said.
The Samohi / Yaretzi Presa
Ms. Colburn holds one of her students’ memorable art pieces created for the yearly Be-A-Historian APUSH project.
In the talk of having a wide selection of syrup flavors for a hot cup of coffee, AP US History and AVID teacher Margaret Colburn shared the purpose of all the colorful decorations plastered on the walls. “I have an AVID team, so that’s why I have college banners. To make it avidy, I have a ballon celebrating where people are going. On the other hand, we have history, so I have famous people in history. I’ve got plenty of history memes and a map,” Colburn said. Creativity buzzing around, Colburn shared her journey of progressing her classroom to be what it is today, “I like a lot of color and fun, so this year, I decided to add the patriotic lights. So I have red, white and blue colors around the room,” Colburn said. “The coffee station was started by Alana Ross in AVID, during my second year teaching, and she asked me to set up the station and a punching bag, and I said okay.”