The Mycenaean

Walking into a classroom for the first time can be intimidating. Even more so when the walls are bare and white. Most teachers at Leesville cover the walls of their classrooms with posters and inspirational sayings, but a few go above and beyond with the process.

Geoffrey Travagline is a social studies teacher at Leesville who decorates his classroom with pop culture references and student art. The walls of his room are almost entirely covered with Game of Thrones and Marvel posters, along with posters of American history paintings. There is a bulletin board littered with photos of his students traveling around the world and framed photos of his past classes. 

Political cartoons and student work line the walls, showcasing the talent of his students. Ellis Nani, a freshman, had World History with Travagline last semester. She said his room gave her something new to look at every day.

“I like how he takes the things that he’s passionate about like Game of Thrones that he can spark conversations with and he hangs them up on the walls…” she said. Nani mentioned a time when she overheard a student ask about a poster which “sparked a conversation that led [them] into the lesson that day.”

Travagline said his room is “a mixture of [his] personality as a person and what [he] wants to do as a teacher.”

“You don’t get bored. It doesn’t get stale,” he explained.

Now that the walls and shelves are filling up, Travagline is turning towards the ceiling. Painted ceiling tiles have been a popular installment throughout the school in classrooms– no matter the subject.

On the same floor of the main building is Jenna Lyon’s interior design class. Entering her classroom is akin to looking at a Pinterest board. The first year teacher said she did some research when planning the style of her room. 

“I think being an interior design teacher, it’s important to understand the background and the psychology behind how a room makes you feel. Different colors trigger different feelings and emotions so having something aesthetically pleasing makes students want to come in and try and really focus,” said Lyons.

Lyon’s room gets a lot of traffic and students have stopped to admire her classroom’s flair. She spoke on how she’s had “students who aren’t even in [her] class and they’ll walk by in the hallway and pop in and compliment [her] room.” 

Subtle additions like this “makes people inspired by her room to do something similar with their designs,” said Nani.

Color schemes and greenery surround her room, giving it a cohesive style. Even Lyon’s valentine decorations seem to match the aesthetic of her class.

These classrooms show the passion teachers have for their students and how committed they are for helping students feel more at home. Teachers like these make Leesville seem less like just a school and more like a community.