From Bland To Bold: The Evolution Of A Classroom

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Mr. Williams’ classroom noticeably reflects both his and his students’ personalities in unique and vibrant ways

By: Sam Burgos

From tropical murals and inspirational posters to bold and sometimes odd student art, and painted ceiling tiles scattered randomly: Mr. Williams’ room over the years has changed a lot. He originally put up some pictures his kids drew around the room, and put a basketball hoop in the corner. More recently, however, he let his students decorate. “If they give me something and it’s appropriate to put up in the classroom, I have no problem putting it up,” Williams said.

Hanging In There: A Spiderman action figure hangs above Mr. Williams’ desk with the help of some tape.

In 2020, he embarked on his time teaching at DHS. Williams didn’t have a set plan as to how his room would look. “I never really envisioned what I wanted my classroom to look like. I just ultimately knew that I wanted it to be a comfortable place for students to learn,” he said. However, over time, Williams’ room started to acquire more and more random decorations and “student artwork.” Once students started giving him artwork to hang up, more joined, and from there it grew.

“Then I had a student that expressed interest in painting a ceiling tile,“ Williams said. “And, you know, looking at my room, it’s white cinder blocks, white ceiling; everything is just kind of ‘blah.’ So, I allowed them to do a ceiling tile and then it just kept going from there.”

Decoration From All Angles: Shown is one of the thirteen ceiling tiles painted by students
that are in Mr. Williams’ room. Besides one of planets, there is also a city skyline tile, a Peer-to-Peer tile, and many more.

Mr. Williams’ room now has 13 ceiling tiles painted by various students, and that number will probably keep increasing.

From the three years that he has been a part of the DHS teaching staff, his room has dramatically changed for the better. Not only does Mr. Williams’ room reflect his personality, but it also reflects the personality of his students.

Where The Magic Happens: Shown is Mr. Williams’ desk which is surrounded by the chaos ofhis and his students’ various art, inspirational posters, and other decorations.

“I’d say it’s a much different feeling than other classrooms,” said sophomore Mason McAllister, who eats lunch in Mr. Williams’ room nearly every other day. “I like how it’s decorated and really shows you he really tries to embrace his students’ work… I remember last year, when I started my freshman year, there wasn’t really much on the ceiling. It was just a plain, white ceiling, but throughout the year and the start of this year he’s added colorful ceiling tiles painted by students that really showcase who the students are and who Mr. Williams is.”