Best Teacher Room Decor
Architectural Digest meets Academic Magnet to answer the question everyone is asking; which teacher has the best decor?
Classroom decor is very important for creating a fun environment in school, and I think that overall Magnet teachers do a great job with their decor. Since it is not fair to compare the decor of a science classroom to an English classroom, as they have very different aesthetics, I have chosen the best decor from each department; English, history, science, foreign language, and the electives. I did not mention every teacher at magnet in the article, but a big thank you to all the teachers, they work very hard and do a great job. Now onto the winners!
History Department
The first department on the chopping block is history. While I think that the history department overall could do better with their decor, they get a pass because I like history and also there are some great statement pieces in some classrooms. Starting off with Mr. Rush’s room. Putting a treadmill in his classroom was a very avant-garde choice, yet it works. The Mount Rushmore poster with Mr. Rush, Mr. Stackhouse, and Mrs. Pinckney in the place of the presidents is also just an amazing piece, and really speaks for itself. So while there could be a little more decor, I think that the Mount Rushmore poster and treadmill deserve some praise. Sadly, it is still not enough to award Mr. Rush as best decor for the history department. Moving on to Mr. Stackhouse. I like his room, it is well decorated and has some fun posters and student work. The giant baby yoda poster is very random, but that is what makes it fun. Although this is not technically decor, I really like his google chrome background, which is a minion holding a clarinet and side eyeing everyone. The room is also very clean which is nice and appears to be very organized. Yet, I still believe that there is no competition when it comes to who won the best decor in the history department; Mrs. Orr. What really brings the room together is the flags that hang across the room and many students seem to agree. When I asked Radhika Pandey what her favorite part of Mrs Orr’s room was she said I really like the flags. They really add to the ceiling. — Radhika Pandey
Her room has the perfect blend of posters relating to what she teaches and also her other interests such as the marvel posters and star wars trinkets on her desk. I also really like her posters relating to history and the government such as the Malcom X quote that rests right above the board, the huge Rosie the Riveter poster, and the posters that show all of our elected officials. So congratulations Mrs. Orr on winning best room decor for the history department!
ELECTIVE TEACHERS
For best decor out of all the elective teachers, I have to crown Mr. Grimshaw. Since his room’s ceiling is taller than the other classrooms, it is harder to decorate which makes his room, in my opinion, more impressive. I really like all the posters of all the different artists that he likes and listens to. Since he is the guitar and music theory teacher, he has different instruments all around his room which automatically makes the room cool and fun. Also, I really like the stickers all over the room, my favorite being “hangin’ with my gnomies.” The huge CD collection is also really cool and is just another way he expresses his love for music in the room. So, congratulations Mr. Grimshaw for having the best decor of the elective teachers.
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
The science department definitely has either the best or second best overall decor compared to the other departments. I really like when teachers take a more maximalist approach to decorating and I think the science department really does this well. I have narrowed the best decor down to Mrs. Roop, Mrs. Desbrow, and Mr. McCormick and it was really hard to choose which room was the best. Mr. McCormick’s room has truly a special spark, the dead organisms in jars backdropped with inspirational quotes are really aesthetically pleasing. Mrs. Desbrow’s room takes on true maximalism with endless things to look at while she is singing opera or talking about her many adventures growing up. Although, a drawback of the room is that the chairs squeak whenever you slightly move, which can be very annoying. With all this considered, the winner has to be Mrs. Roop. Mrs. Roop has the unfair advantage that the subjects she teaches have cool and fun posters and trinkets. For example, the trinkets on her desk of Nemo, Dory, Gary, etc, are not only fun but technically related to marine biology. It’s a win-win situation. And of course a big reason why Mrs. Roop wins is because of the pets in her room. Remy the tortoise, the gerbil, and the snake really make her room iconic and they are fun to put on your desk and play with, or in some cases just watch Remy do nothing. Although, big shout out to the whole science department for having some great decor and congratulations to Mrs. Roop!
MATH DEPARTMENT
No offense to the math department, but their rooms need some better decor. Although, I think that there are two clear competitors for the race to win best decor for the math department; Dr. Cassidy and Mrs. Hooffstetter. Mrs. Hooffstetter’s room has a lot of personality to it, from the Star Wars posters, extensive funko pop collection, and the Game of Thrones clock, it really shows her interests outside of math, research, and cross country. Being a huge fan of Star Wars and Game of Thrones, I really appreciate the decor. While Dr. Cassidy’s room has a more calming feel with the butterflies that extend across the room and the fun fairy lights. Carylon Selvidge says that I love when Dr. Cassidy decorates her room for each holiday, it really gets me in the spirit. — Carolyn Selvidge
So, I will have to say that the winner is Dr. Cassidy. I think the vibe of her room is really great and the decor is very nice. Also considering that she decorates for each holiday really makes her room the winner of the math department.
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
I think the English department has some really great decor in their rooms. It was hard to narrow the decision down to the top three rooms, but after much consideration the top three are; Mrs. Hurt, Mrs. Grayson, and Mrs. Smith. I’m sorry Mrs. Lankford, your Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock cardboard cutout is iconic, but unfortunately it is just not enough to make the cut. In third place is Mrs. Hurt’s room. I really like all the photos of past and present magnet students and it’s fun to look at all the photos. The many stuffed animals is what makes the room in the top three, and the giant green and black guerrilla is very Academic Magnet pride and also a staple of the room. In second place is Mrs. Grayson’s room. I love Mrs. Grayson’s room. I like that the room is somewhat maximalist, yet it is not messy. This is very hard to pull off as many classrooms that are maximalist are very overwhelming and seem very disorganized, while the classes that seem more neat and organized have too little of a personality. So kudos to Mrs. Grayson for creating the perfect balance. I would have put Mrs. Grayson as the winner, but when asking people their favorite room in the English department there was an overwhelming amount of people who said that Mrs. Smith’s room should be the winner. I never had Mrs. Smith so I have never been in her room, but when I went investigating for this article and saw her room, I would have to agree that Mrs. Smith’s room does have the best decor. It is clean yet still has personality to it. Also, the colors of the posters compliment each other very well and make the room feel bright. I also love all the plants, they balance the warmer colors of the posters and compliment the room very well. Mrs. Smith’s room is very Pinterest worthy and would definitely be on every teacher’s classroom moodboard. Congratulations Mrs. Smith for winning best decor for the English department!
FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT
The foreign language department has a lot to work with, and I believe that they could easily take over the science department as having the best room decor in the whole school. Starting with the Spanish rooms. I am not taking Spanish, so when I asked around about which Spanish teacher had the best decor, there was a collective agreement that the Spanish classrooms could improve. I think that the great decor around the school for Hispanic Heritage Month created a high standard that the Spanish classrooms just did not match. So unfortunately, none of the Spanish teachers will be in the running for best decor. This leaves the French department, the frenemies, Mr. Jent and Dr. Altman, battling for the best room decor of the foreign language department. I’m sorry Dr. Altman, but I have to put Mr. Jent as the winner. My favorite part of the room is the huge poster of the Eiffel tower that takes up the whole wall. And of course I have to mention the rhinos that are all around the room, it is very random but it is fun to try and find them all. I think the only thing missing in the room is a Children of the Corn poster. So congratulations Mr. Jent on winning best decor of the foreign language department!
Congratulations to all the teachers who won, you now have some bragging rights in your department. My personal favorite decor out of all the winners are Mrs. Orr and Mrs. Smith, they have different aesthetic styles, but they both executed their rooms very well. But overall all Magnet teachers have great rooms and do a great job at finding ways to include their personalities into their room. Also, comment your favorite classroom decor, I would love to hear your opinions!
