All of the teachers at Dobie work very hard to decorate their classes for their students. When you walk into a class, you may not think it’s the best but you should definitely appreciate it. The school only gives them desks, a computer, and a board or two.

Teachers have to pay for everything else themselves. Even though they pay for everything, their work still is not done. They still have to take days out of their summer do put everything up. They may have to laminate each poster by hand, put each sticker on every desk, and shelf every single book.

Mrs. Hecox teaches eighth grade math and algebra. ”I feel like having an inviting classroom makes students feel more welcome. Lots of time, effort and love goes into it. I add to it every year,” said Mrs. Hecox. Even though she loves decorating her room that doesn’t mean she likes taking everything down “ I one million percent hate taking everything down, and I’d cry if they made me take it down and move.’’   

Mr. Lovelace teaches Orchestra, and shares a room with Mr. C, the Choir teacher. When Mr. Lovelace got the room, he didn’t see it until the first day of school. He noticed how bare it was, with just boards on the wall. “I wanted this room to be more of a safe and fun environment, so I added some inspiring posters.” Being the music teacher, he has lots of posters with music, notes, clefs, etc. “Putting the posters up wasn’t hard. It was the shelves that we had to put together. Plus, Mr.C. and I have different schedules, so that was more difficult.” He and Mr. C had to line up schedules in order to get everything together. 

Mrs.Luna (C.C.R teacher same with Spanish) wants her classroom to be warm and welcoming to all of her students. Before school started she decorated her room. It took a few afternoons and the Sunday before school started, though. Mrs.Luna from a scale of 1-10 she said “It was a definite 10, I don’t see the point of taking it down if I don’t move classes, I spend a lot of time putting them up but, if I did change class rooms its okay.”

Mrs. DeJesus teaches 7th grade Science. “I wanted them to have a little bit more interaction with the classroom”. Since last year, she has changed the room a lot. She worked very hard to add ‘centers’ for her students. “Weeks. Yeah, several weeks.” She took lots of time out of her own summer just to give back to her students. Elli Plummer has Mrs. DeJesus 5th period. When asked how long she thought it took Mrs. DeJesus to decorate, she answered with, “Like a day… or two. She worked pretty hard though.” Most of the students interviewed admit that they thought Mrs. DeJesus worked hard, but they underestimate the time and dedication it takes. 

Mrs. Wetz, 7th grade language arts teacher, worked hard to make her classroom calming and relaxing. She always keeps the florescent lights off, using lamps instead. “I look at my classroom like a blank canvas each year,” she said, adding that she enjoys decorating it to make it more comfortable for students. “I love plants and nature, and I think fresh air is important.” Mrs. Wetz likes having her room as cozy as possible. 

Mr. Olson likes to keep his room relatively bare and empty so kids can add their own art onto his walls. It’s a constant effort for Mr. Olson to decorate his room. Also this year is Mr. Olson’s first time teaching with his own classroom so taking his decorations down every year doesn’t really apply to him. Akinbolade Akinropo is an eighth grade student that I interviewed about Mr. Olson classroom. He told me that he thought his classroom was plain but liked that aspect about it.

Mrs. Higgins is an 8th grade ELA teacher , She wanted to make her room based on the fact that she’s stuck in there all day. And also added things that kept her engaged throughout the day, With her decorating process she adds onto what she had up last year. When asked how much she would dislike taking everything down she said she would absolutely hate having to take everything down.   

All of these teachers and more work hard to make their room spectacular. Next time you walk into a room, tell the teacher you really appreciate their hard work.