The Stories Behind the Classrooms

Now, before whoever clicked on this article leaves right after seeing the headline, wait a second. This story will not be as boring as the headline suggests. So please, stick with me. 

All classrooms in Carroll have some kind of decoration, whether it be quite a bit or not a lot, all rooms have something engaging for students to see upon entry. 

However, there may be backstories behind those decorations, reasons why they are where they are today and how the ideas for them came to be. Not many students ask some of these questions as to why the things in the rooms they see every day are there, and they may be missing out on things that they never knew they didn’t know.

“One thing that not many students know about in my room,” said Mr. Hartman, a 10-12 biology teacher, “is that I have a stuffed monkey that Demery Fosnaugh and Bayan Yunis gave me. They taped a ‘recruiting poster’ featuring a selfie of themselves to my whiteboard and informed me that ‘The Monkey Gang’ was recruiting, and since they already got me a monkey, I had no choice but to accept the invitation. That was fun.” 

Mr. Hartman is also an avid collector of things that students have given him and does his best to make sure all of them are displayed somewhere in his room. 

“When a student gives me something, I generally try my best to display them. I tape up drawings or art that I get and little trinkets or decorations normally go on top of my cabinets or organizers. Kerynna Ngu painted a “handsome Squidward” on a little Canvas for me last year for instance,  and it is very handsome, so it is prominently displayed at the front of the room” said Hartman.  

He also has a rather entertaining story about one of his better-known decorations in his room, that anyone who has been in his class has seen. 

“At the end of last year, my long-time student assistant/lab assistant Daisy Macias gave me a letter board in the shape of a Stegosaurus.  She knows I loved dinosaurs and she and her friends would frequently give me little dinosaur-themed items.  But I really like this letter board, and every time I update it I send her a picture of it,” said Mr. Hartman,  “I try to make the messages science-related dad jokes.  I hope they make her cringe.”

There seems to be a theme of science teachers having interesting decor in their rooms, as Mr. Zhao also has an interesting story about something that many people know is in his room, whether they had him as a teacher or not. 

“So many people primarily want to know about the class flag in my room. The other wall posters are pretty standard science safety items and have no special story” said Zhao. 

Turns out the flag has something to do with fire drills. 

“I needed a symbol to use as a rallying point for fire drills. Other teachers have small mini flags or tennis balls on meter sticks but I wanted something a little more noticeable. About five years ago I realized I could simply purchase a removable flagpole and mount a 3 foot by 5-foot flag of my choice on it. For the last 4 years, that flag has been a depiction of the White Tree of Gondor (Lord of the Rings)  on a blue field, matching CHS colors” said Mr. Zhao,  “This year it has actually been updated to the flag of the Antares Confederacy (Stellaris Invicta Season 2) from one of the YouTube channels I follow.”

Surprisingly, even something as simple as a fire drill flag can have a fairly interesting story. 

One of the most well-known rooms that is highly decorated is one in the freshman center. 

“One thing that a lot of people know is in my room,” said Mrs. Brubaker, an English teacher in the freshmen center, “is my Big Barney Fife poster I have in my classroom, that I had in my dorm in college. I just love the look on his face and the big THINK sign above his expression.” 

Brubaker also has some memories related to her time in high school. 

“There is a poster of my high school basketball team hanging in the corner too.  I like to remind students that I too was in high school once… CHS class of 1995.” 

By far, however, the one thing that her room is most well known for is the pennants and Christmas lights that adorn the ceiling.

“I also have the pennants hanging in my room, because my students are like my “kids. We spend a lot of time together and share a lot of memories,” said Mrs. Brubaker “I miss them when they move to the 10-12 side and I don’t see them as often, so the pennants allow me to see them even when they move to the 10-12.” 

Brubaker gives the pennants back to the kids who made them originally when they graduate, which is something that isn’t that well known between people who had or currently have her as a teacher. 

She also has a tradition of having students sign Neon Nation shirts of the year that they graduate that sticks with them long after having Mrs. Brubaker. 

“The T-shirts around my room… Every year I have my students sign the shirts and it’s their way of leaving a mark on the place.  I love it when students look for their siblings/friends’ names on the shirt… and come back to find their own names.”  

No matter how intricately decorated the classroom is, Brubaker sums up the one thing that all teachers wish for their students. 

“Each student leaves a mark on me and I hope I’ve left a positive influence on them.”