By Krystal Torres ’25
All photos by Krystal Torres ’25
Classroom decoration matters. Decoration anywhere inside a school building matters. Classroom decoration, however, is most important. This is because of all the benefits that come with it, such as a positive impact on student-teacher relationships, how comfortable and safe students feel in the classroom, the ability to either negatively or positively affect their willingness to learn, and more. Decorating a classroom has to be done right and with the students in mind.
Learning is an emotional process, so stimulating positive emotion will motivate students to learn. When students learn something new, they begin to comprehend what they are learning or when receiving a grade that feels satisfactory, they usually get excited and happy. When students begin getting bad grades or losing the ability to comprehend what is being taught in class, they feel stressed and overwhelmed, which may result in giving up and feeling unmotivated. This causes students to begin feeling many emotions such as excitement, happiness or stress. This is why learning is considered an emotional process and why having an effective layout and design has several benefits.
One of the most important reasons why classroom decorations have a good influence on students is because it makes them feel motivated to go to class. Students can get a sense of “home” in decorated classrooms. When students find a place that reminds them of home or any space they find comfort in school, they usually like to spend time there while feeling comfortable in that environment, improving student-teacher relationships.
There are many benefits to having a good student-teacher relationship. If a student has a good relationship with their teacher, the chances of them asking for help when they don’t understand work is more likely. They are also more likely to seek help from that teacher if they are having trouble academically, emotionally, physically, etc. The students know they have a trusted adult at school.
Classrooms that are decorated also make the teacher more likable. This is because the classroom is more “alive” and less boring. It shows that the teacher is also human and gives the student a sense of the teacher’s personality. Decorated classrooms allow students to feel safe, expressing themselves without the fear of being judged. The signs that are hung up outside the doors of every classroom in DHS are one of the best decorations up in the school. These signs say “Safe space. Be true, be brave, be proud” and they have a rainbow on their side.
When decorating a classroom, there are a few things that should be kept in mind. How much space is available, the layout, the type of students that will spend time in the classroom, a theme for the overall classroom, and much more.
How much space is actually available is very important because you don’t want to over decorate or clutter the room. Over decorating a classroom could overwhelm the students and cause them to be easily distracted and even feel uneasy, there is a lot happening around them. If students are easily distracted or feeling uneasy, they won’t be able to comprehend their work or complete their assignments.
The most important thing to be kept in mind is the age range of students and any disabilities they might have. The way a high school classroom would be decorated isn’t the same way a preschool classroom would be decorated. High school classrooms are more calming and less colorful, while a preschool classroom has very bold and bright colors as well as animated looking drawings on the walls. An example of this would be the difference between Derby High School classroom and down at Little Raiders University (LRU) classrooms.
When talking to Alison Conway, the director of the LRU program, she said one of the most important things they keep in mind when decorating is the kids who have any disabilities. However, she says when they decorate, they are really decorating for themselves (the staff members at LRU) because it affects their mood and attitude, which then reflects onto the children. Color is also one of the most important things they keep in mind when decorating. They try to go for more vibrant colors rather than anything plain and dull. They don’t want colors that are too bright or overwhelming, however, because it can have a negative affect on children with autism or sensory issues. When walking into LRU from inside the high school, it’s like walking into a large play place. The walls are bright yellow and pastel blue and every wall has some sort of decoration on it. No wall is left blank. Conway said they hit every holiday there is, so at the moment LRU is decorated with many Christmas decorations. They have two big and bright Christmas trees. Christmas related drawings like snowflakes, snowmen, red bow ties, elves, and more are drawn on the glass, the carpets are big and bright and the top of the walls have snowflakes and cloud patterns with names on them. On some of the boards, there were turkeys decorated by the children from Thanksgiving. The classrooms even have a birthday wall and decorated doors. There are about five classrooms at LRU and each is decorated very well. They have just the right amount of decorations a classroom needs. They are neatly put together, while making sure it’s not over cluttered and the space was used wisely.
The reason for all these decorations and colors is that children respond well to them. The decorations keep them interested and motivated and makes learning fun, while also keeping them calm and feeling at ease. Children feel comfortable in the classrooms because there’s things that remind them of home. This is the same feeling high school teachers should want their students to feel when it comes to being in their classroom.
Some classrooms in DHS are very well decorated while others lack a lot of decorations. The classrooms that are decorated are also the classrooms where most students feel comfortable and more connected to their teachers. The classrooms that lack decorations are usually the classrooms where students are less engaged.
Some of the most decorated classrooms in DHS are English teacher, Jessica Yanes, English teacher, Nicole Borges, English teacher, Rebecca Socha, English teacher, Kristin Parry, chemistry teacher, Steve Wojtowicz, and Italian teacher, Hunter Sigona. Each of these classrooms all have different aesthetics and themes but they’re still decorated enough to make students feel comfortable and at ease. Ms. Borges and Ms. Parry have some of the best decorated rooms in DHS. They are also two of the teachers who students feel comfortable with.
Walking into Ms. Parry’s room is like walking into a library. She has books everywhere, one of her back walls is decorated with pages that were ripped from different books and placed in a nice pattern, she has lots of greenery, she has lights hung up, and much more.
Ms. Borge’s room is very calming and very well decorated. The theme of her classroom is cow print and she has a very open and comfortable layout. The outside of her door is also decorated with a welcome sign that matches her cow print theme. Wojo has different banners from different colleges that his students went to. They’re hung up around the top of his walls. This is motivational for students because seeing all these banners ranging from community to ivy league colleges, helps students know they can go far if they really try. They can go to any college they want if they put in the work.
Decorations, any kind of décor, are better than nothing, as long as it brings life to classrooms. Decorations have many positive impacts on students and all teachers should consider putting decorations up.
The Raider Press 