In July, I became an EduTwitter minor villain for a weekend, with this tweet:

I was intentionally curt & lacked nuance. The Instagram classroom has gotten to be too much. There are so many times that I’ve seen actual elementary school classrooms get overrun by decor, and sometimes said decor comes close to interfering with classroom routines.

But I don’t think classroom decor is inherently bad. I’ve never worked in an empty, gray space. I have spent a lot of money on AstroBrights over the years, now cursing past me because in 2021, you can get a pack at Target. I always had something bright & cheerful in my room. In my first classroom, I put up a Billy Joel poster, because I happened to have it, and I think he’s a great artist.

And I’m a Sorry Girls devotee. I love decor, I love gallery walls, I love color schemes, and have had some great ones in my past homes. I’m still getting there in my current home. I only wear & buy clothes based on a limited color scheme over the past three years.

But I stand by my prior statement. Especially for novice teachers, decoration should be deprioritized. It is not everything.

Some teachers are able to perfectly decorate their room. One fourth grade teacher I met at an old school lettered everything in her room flawlessly, putting a dot at every angle & endpoint of each letter. She was Old School, as we might say, and was effective, loving, and everyone knew where she stood at all times. And everyone in the building had a very high opinion of her.

But some of us get overwhelmed. My statement was intended to let others know that it is okay to go slowly. It is okay to not walk in on day one with a Pinterest-perfect room. It is okay if you’re just keeping your head above water, this school year in particular. If you’re warm, caring, have good plans, are flexible yet firm, are willing to apologize when needed, and knowledgeable about your subject, that goes hundreds of miles further than even the cutest bulletin board.

There are so many takes on how much it takes to decorate your classroom, or who should pay for what you put in it. Flexible seating? Instagram-able classroom? Faux-brick wall face? Painted walls? Most of that is paid for by a teacher, or a measly amount of lead money. What’s your shake on former teachers making their salary on a website like Teachers Pay Teachers, or doing something questionable to pay these over the top classroom decor items? Or average kindergarten teachers spending $5,000 in a year on their classrooms (because that happens, and it’s not out of the ordinary)? I read about a teacher who bold-faced gives plasma to decorate her classroom. I mean, your blood, your choice. But something about that seems to indict a system rather than a person. My daughter’s first grade teacher has outright asked parents for help. And we are always happy to provide, because we can, and because I understand fully where she’s coming from.

For me, now, it seems my values are about to be tested.

It has been a wild school year, and really a great one, if you can believe it. I was in a long-term sub job to start the school year, and loved every minute of it. I didn’t do much, if anything, to change what the permanent teacher has up in the physical classroom. It was clear she spent years getting it the way she wanted. I did get a little bit excited about Rock Your School, and went slightly overboard in decorating for the week so that my kids could spend the week in space. It was inadvertently in support of an organization I don’t support. However, it also was a way to have something “spooky” in class, yet more inclusive than celebrating Halloween. So I went all out with it. And I got sick for a full week after.

And now, nearly 2/3 into the school year, I am starting a new job. I’m part of a co-teaching music team, and I’m excited for that. But my room is a blank slate. My co-teacher is looking to help, but the school is somewhat overcrowded, and budgets are stretched thin.

And I want to be intentional about what goes up in my room. Will these posters contain information my students can use? At my first school, I had a baritone player tell me, “Some days, I just stare at that Billy Joel poster for sooo long.”

I have already bought some things for my room. And I intend to be transparent about how I’m putting things into the room. And I am trying to be extremely intentional about the things I buy for the room, including books. The majority of my students at this school are Black & Latinx, so it is very important to me to ensure they are represented in the books we use in class. (And yes, I’ve got lessons already planned, slide-showed, and previously taught about William Grant Still, Florence Price, Roberto Sierra, Ernesto Lecuona, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and more Black & Latinx composers.)

If you would like to support my classroom efforts, you can feel free to do so using my Ko-fi page, or to Clear This List, as seen below.

The Rebel Music Teach Ko-fi page

The MGES Wish List

Thank you in advance, and thank you so far to John O’Briant, and others who have supported this effort!