A series dedicated to the posters, murals, pictures, and miscellaneous objects that fill the classrooms of Marblehead High School, and the stories behind these decorations.
Every school day, Daniel Ritchie teaches his students about the history of the United States, detailing American life from the first colonizers up to the 2016 election. The 2019-20 school year marks Mr. Ritchie’s tenth time teaching this course, and his tenth round of teaching in the same classroom: B307. Tucked in the middle of the B-wing hallway on Marblehead High School’s third floor, B307 is just one of many interestingly-decorated classrooms of the school. The most eye-catching elements of B307 hang on its walls, which Mr. Ritchie has decorated with framed historical quotes and mottos, artifacts from past classes, and, most notably, “Mr. Ritchie’s AP 5 club.” The room is a collage of life at the high school, as well as that of an entire country beyond this town and time period. While Mr. Ritchie’s selection of decorations may appear to be only a stylistic choice, he values the meaning behind everything he has hung up throughout the room and hopes his students will as well. Here are some of the standouts:
Keep Calm and Carry On – Hanging between two of the classroom’s windows is a large-scale print of the World War II-era motto, “Keep Calm and Carry On,” a sentiment both relevant to the class curriculum as well as his students’ lives. If nothing else, Mr. Ritchie hopes that the next time students stress about an upcoming assignment, they can remember that at least they are not facing the ongoing bomb threat that the English were accustomed to during the 1940s.
Class photos – A few feet over, Mr. Ritchie displays photos of the boys lacrosse team he coaches, as well as a class snapshot from a field trip to Bunker Hill, a picture he promises to update in the coming weeks as this year’s class embarks on the same trip.“I’d like to continue to add onto things over the years…” he says, although he wants these additions “to have some sort of personal meaning versus just putting up a poster for the sake of putting up a poster.”
V-J Day Mural – Another chunk of the wall is decorated with a student mural, painted by the Class of 2001’s Britney Ficaro for her senior project. The work depicts the iconic “V-J Day” photograph of a sailor victoriously kissing a young nurse in Times Square after the war with Japan was officially ended. Mr. Ritchie and Ficaro decided upon this image together, debating between this shot and that of Neill Armstrong on the moon. Ultimately, “V-J Day” was a more colorful and appropriately-sized image for the wall, but Mr. Ritchie hopes that someday, another student will volunteer to create an additional mural.
APUSH 5 Club – To the left of the mural and above the whiteboard is Mr. Ritchie’s favorite part of the classroom: a stretch of nine frames listing the members of his “APUSH 5 Club.” To be a part of the group, students have to earn a five on their AP United States History exam, the highest score possible. Mr. Ritchie prints out a list of these students’ names every year and frames it to live in his hall of fame. Just last week, Mr. Ritchie hung up his members from the 2019 test, pointing it out to all his classes that day. While this tradition may have started as a “way to motivate students,” the club has allowed Mr. Ritchie to, “visually see the impact that you make as a teacher and how you’ve helped a lot of people along the way.” Whether or not it is the reason students score a five on their exam, it certainly sets the tone for the kind of teacher Mr. Ritchie is and the appreciation he has for his students.
Of course, there is only so much a teacher can do to modify the appearance of his or her classroom. The paint on the walls will always be white, save for a few murals, and the furniture and layout is also predetermined. Teachers at MHS build on this canvas though, making their classrooms a welcoming learning environment for students, whether that be, in Mr. Ritchie’s case, with a framed silly T-shirt the class of 2013 gave him, old student artwork on the walls, or even the instrumental music he plays during class. All of these things make the classroom that much happier of a place to spend 55 minutes every day, and if a few decorations is all this takes, why not go for it? Surely, things have changed throughout Daniel Ritchie’s ten years spent teaching at MHS, but as history teaches us, some things will always stay the same, and that definitely remains true for the positive spirit of B307.