The crazy class of Cochrum: A look at the history behind her room

A room can tell a lot about someone. For earth science and biology teacher Lisa Cochrum, her room, 1017, is a place for her to share her stories and adventures. It is filled with toys and pictures, each one having sentimental value.

When students first walk in, they usually notice the mountain of toys sitting on her desk, ranging from snakes to chickens and to even pig pinatas. Cochrum said that when biology and physics teacher Jenny Garcia’s son was only 2, he gave her a Magic School Bus toy.

Surprised by the gift, Cochrum was flattered and decided to place the toy on her desk. Ever since then, students have brought in toys that have reminded them about biology or earth science.

“Most students nowadays give me stuffed animal pigs because we dissect pigs every year in bio,” Cochrum said with a laugh.

Aside from toys, a standard hammer sits atop her whiteboard, attracting many eyes for the oddity the object.

“Ms. Thomson and I visited a science fair and we saw the Mythbusters team of Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage,” Cochrum said. “We wanted their autograph really bad and all we had was this mallet, so we asked them if they would sign the mallet and take a picture with us.”

According to Cochrum, the reason she personalizes her classroom is that she has always been annoyed by barren walls. When Cochrum was a student in Palo Alto High, she was constantly stuck in classrooms adorned with bare walls that lacked anything to look at.

“With my ADD, I tended to zone out and when I zoned out, I liked to look at interesting things, and in most classes I had nothing to look at,” Cochrum said. “It was really annoying. Since then, I knew that I would decorate my classroom.”

Now that Cochrum is a teacher, the discomforting, barren walls of her students years have been replaced with photos of her travels. Cochrum has traveled all over the world from the hot savannas of Africa to the tropical rain forests of South America. Her travel mate, biology and AP Enviromental
Science teacher Kristen Thomson, has shared good laughs traveling together.

One prominent picture upon her wall reminds her of the joys of traveling with Thomson. They traveled to Borneo, a tropical country filled with swamps and crawling with leeches. Cochrum wanted a picture with a leech to show her students, but it refused to bite her. Instead the leech seemed to have an affinity for Thomson.

“Every time I put the leech on my skin, it would jump right off. It was funny and frustrating at the same time.” Cochrum still jokes about this trying experience and in contrast, Thomson is still playfully “angry” about how Cochrum’s blood had an immunity to leeches.

The knick knacks in her room preserve the precious memories of her life, making her feel at home in her class.

“My classroom is a fun and interesting way to express my life and let my students get a feel of what I like to do,” Cochrum said.