Whats on the Wall?

Having now visited five different classrooms at C High, I've gotten more of a feel for the way classrooms are organized, how teachers choose to decorate, and what they put on the walls. The walls, after all, are the main point of anyones focus when in the classroom, being directly at eye level. Therefore, what is posted (or not posted) on the walls can serve to either augment and bolster the teacher's presentation and planning, or, in some cases, detract from it. During our visit today to C High, we entered two classrooms I thought had relevant, prescient wall-hangings that definitely supported the students in their work, either reinforcing previous lessons, or serving as constant reminders of basic tenets of that curriculum. For example, in the English classroom we visited (a teacher named Mrs. G), the room was adorned with helpful vocabulary, as well as a TON of literacy starters. Mrs. G had sentence starters, how to cite work, a variety of reading and writing strategies, and a veritable cornucopia of other hangings that served to make her room a comforting, fertile learning environment. She even had her own educational credo posted on the wall for students to read, and perhaps scrutinize in relation to the actual assignments. In stark contrast to that classroom was a foreign language classroom we visited last week. This class had little to nothing on the walls; maybe a picture of a sombrero or something haphazardly and crookedly hung, but nothing else. There might have also been one of those cookie-cutter motivational learning posters that are so prevalent in schools (debunked by educational theorist Alfie Kohn here. A classroom like that doesn't present students with a learning environment conducive to their involvement. If the teacher doesn't put thought into their classroom, why should the students? So it suffices to say that what you choose to put on your classroom walls is important. It should be a reflection of your teaching persona, in my mind. You might be a vibrant, creative individual who is passionate about helping students learn and posting their exemplary work. Or you might be a bland, uninvolved drillmaster. What will you put on your walls? Here is a video that includes some ideas for ways you can make your walls work for you.