Additonal reporting by Sofia Ferry and Teo Gonzalez
The decoration and design of classrooms are crucial in fostering effective learning environments necessary for students’ development. The spaces in which students learn impact their overall approach to learning. Particular elements in a classroom can encourage and stimulate students to be engaged with the subject taught to them or disengage them. With James Logan High School’s diverse course catalog and staff, classroom design varies from teacher to teacher. We sought out the influences of how different classroom decorations affect students’ learning experiences.
Many teachers customize their classrooms to fit the subjects they instruct. Mr. Peñalosa, a World Studies and Asian American Studies teacher in Logan’s Ethnic Studies Department and Ethnic Studies Social Justice (ESSJ) academy, shared his intentions for his classroom design.
“I wanted the room to reflect my values in social justice. And so there’s a lot of different posters and artwork that reflects different movements and different people and advocates for their communities,”
said Mr. Peñalosa. “And the other thing is that I wanted it to represent is World History, so I put maps and flags and colors. […] I wanted to show in my corner who I was and just aspects of my life.”
Curating a classroom to embody the personalities and subjects of a teacher can establish a welcoming learning environment. These learning environments allow students to feel connected and engaged with their instructors. Connectivity is crucial to fostering positive student-teacher relationships, which enables students to become more receptive to course material and feel comfortable expressing their concerns with their teacher.
“Oftentimes, when we’re in a confined four walls, to some folks, that’s not the most pleasing atmosphere,” Peñalosa said. “I think having things that [students] can relate to and talk [about] is one of the first key things to me, like, ‘oh, hey, we both like this artist’ or ‘we both like this anime.’ We can connect on those things. I want to build this connection in the classroom.”
Beyond the intentions of teachers with their curated classroom spaces, how receptive are students to these decorations, and how do they influence their experiences in the classroom?
In Logan’s Performing Arts Center, James Logan High School’s choir director, Mrs. McShane, decorates the choir room with vibrant color and embellishes it with Logan’s choral awards.
“I decorated it with the idea that I wanted lots of color. I just didn’t want it to be like super drab,” Mrs. McShane said. “So, all of our posters have color and we have lots of pictures because the awards are really boring color wise. The whole idea is [the classroom] just gets splashed with color.”
With her colorful classroom, Mrs. McShane hopes for her students to feel happiness. She adds that she wishes her classroom “encourages [her students] in their belief that this is a happy place where they can feel safe and be themselves and everything’s gonna be okay.”
Aliza Retuta, a James Logan High School senior and a choir student, shared her thoughts about the choir classroom’s decor.
“[The decorations] make me feel like I’m very much surrounded by the legacy of the classroom. So I feel very much every day when I walk in that there’s a sort of standard to uphold, which is especially true in choir,” Retuta said.
Though it seems that students are not entirely receptive to the intentions of teachers in terms of classroom atmosphere and ambiance, in other ways, decorations, such as the choir awards, are influential in how a student approaches a class subject.
Brandon Trieu, a senior at James Logan High School, shared his thoughts about his AP Calculus BC classroom, a course taught by Mr. Prucha, and its effect on his experiences in said class.
“One aspect [Mr. Prucha’s] classroom is that he loves to decorate his classroom with his alma mater, UC Berkeley. So, he has a lot of Cal decorations […] He also includes some other universities, but mainly UC Berkeley. […] It makes me feel pressured to get into a good school,” Trieu said.
Something as well-meaning as college decor can induce distress for some, especially seniors who spend much of their school year applying to universities and awaiting their final decisions. This inflicted stress can contribute to how students feel in the classroom, which thus affects their performance.
“[Prucha] puts personalized pictures of all his students and memories from the past. He also has a record player,” Trieu said. “Smaller corners that have personal stuff make me feel more at ease when there’s no reminder that I’m going to go college soon.”
Overall, classroom design and decoration can significantly impact students’ experiences and academic performance. It is crucial for teachers to consider the influence of their classrooms on students and strive to create an engaging and comfortable learning environment that promotes positive relationships between teachers and students and supports students’ academic success.
