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# Classroom Walls
- URL: https://dianaludwick.com/classroom-walls/
- Published: 2026-04-08T19:09:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T20:09:49.000Z
- Description: “Classroom Walls,” an imagination of the children of our future, and what will shape them. Written April 08, poem 098 in a series of 365 poems written by Diana Ludwick in 2026. Photo, "Classroom Rules," by Diana Ludwick (c) 2026.
- Author: Diana Ludwick
- Tags: 2026 Poetry Challenge, Poems, April, Art, Challenge, Children, Classroom, Future, Humanity, Leaders, Lessons, Poets, Puzzles, Quotes, Science, STEAM, Teachers, What Matters?, Wisdom, Words, #Migrated-1792872215677, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-10-24 20:03

I imagine a classroom;  
it's the year 2050.  
I can see colorful streamers  
and a multiplication table  
and a weather chart  
and a classroom job board.  
And an easel with   
"Welcome, Class!" written   
in bubbly block letters.  
  
And along one wall,   
a parade of quotes.  
Words without attribution.  
Statements from   
humans of consequence.  
  
On the opposite wall,  
a series of pictures  
of the people who  
had said those words.  
  
On a third wall,   
are written the names   
of people, who presumably  
uttered the commentary:  
  
*Sir Henry Royce* 
*Maya Angelou* 
*DJT* 
*Kamala Harris* 
*Christina Koch* 
*Martin Luther King, Jr.* 
*Henri Matisse*.  
  
And on the fourth wall,  
the roles or titles  
of each of the people  
whose quotes are displayed:  
  
*Artist* 
*Engineer* 
*Pastor* 
*Poet* 
*President* 
*Scientist* 
*Vice President.*  
  
I scan this room   
on a quest for wisdom.  
I come across some quotes  
that catch my eye:  
  
*"Creativity takes courage."*  
  
\= = =   
*"To the children of our country,* 
*regardless of your gender,* 
*our country has sent you* 
*a clear message:* 
*Dream with ambition,* 
*lead with conviction,* 
*and see yourself in a way* 
*that others might not see you...* 
*And we will applaud you* 
*every step of the way."*  
  
\= = =  
*"We will explore.* 
*We will build.* 
*We will build ships.* 
*We will visit again.* 
*We will construct science outposts.* 
*We will drive rovers.* 
*We will do radio astronomy.* 
*We will found companies.* 
*We will bolster industry.* 
*We will inspire.* 
*But ultimately,* 
*we will always* 
*choose Earth.* 
*We will always* 
*choose each other."*  
  
\= = =   
*"Life’s most persistent* 
*and urgent question is,* 
*‘What are you* 
*doing for others?’”*  
  
 \= = =   
*"A whole civilization* 
*will die tonight,* 
*never to be* 
*brought back again."*  
  
\= = =  
*“Strive for perfection* 
*in everything you do.* 
*Take the best that exists* 
*and make it better.* 
*When it does not exist,* 
*design it.”*   
  
\= = =  
*"When someone shows you* 
*who they are,* 
*believe them* 
*the first time."*  
  
\= = =   
Ah. Oh. I can see now!  
This is a dynamic installation.  
Not mere passive decor,  
the walls are meant   
as a matching game, one  
to force a conversation.  
  
The teacher must want   
the kids to do the work  
to delve into the words  
to be detectives  
to deduce who said what  
and how much   
those words mattered.  
  
I wonder how this class  
will interpret:  
these portraits  
these job titles  
these names  
these words.  
  
Statements tell  
the character of a person.  
Faces show the soul.  
Titles hint at self-identity.  
And names are accountability;  
they underscore the weight.  
  
I wonder, what will this class of  
young forming minds and hearts  
in 2050 absorb and infer  
from this four-wall puzzle?  
  
Taken in whole  
four aspects as one   
serve as inspirations,   
so that students  
can shape their selves.  
  
Words matter.  
Which ones will linger?  
Which will be overwritten?  
Arguably this is more vital  
than learning how to tie one's shoes.  
Humanity hangs in the balance.