If the class is making you sleepy, doodling helps you express yourself. Photo courtesy senior Olivia Cusick.

  San Luis Obispo High School students love to doodle during boring classes, on classwork, tables, and even bathroom stalls. It has become such a norm to draw in class, that many teachers don’t even mind it.   

  Doodling, or drawing, has helped students better focus, but is drawing getting out of hand?

Expressions talked to a few students and staff about this classroom past time. 

Expressions: Why do you doodle?

Senior Sefton Strickland: Honestly just having something like, just my hands moving in class, like it’s a stress reliever for me. It just makes me think about something. 

English and theater teacher Noele Eben: Sometimes I doodle. I don’t know why.

Expressions: Do you sometimes draw inappropriate sketching during school hours?

Strickland: Of course I do, all the time. 

Expressions: What do you feel that some students on the campus are drawing inappropriate things on?

Eben: I don’t like that. I don’t think they should do that. It seems disrespectful to our school and also just to themselves. It’s not cool to deface public property.  I’ve seen my students do it on class. And sometimes it bothers me because I feel like they’re not paying attention but I know that different students like to doodle and they are listening and I think it’s an individual thing like a case by case basis. 

Expressions: Does it help with anything like get past or something? 

Eben: I would say I doodle when I’m bored. And I don’t really think that it’s helping me with anything but I’m not very artistic, So. 

Expressions: This happen like when you’ve saw your friends doing it or did it just develop over time as you were growing up? 

Eben: I don’t recall doodling growing up I the only time I remember doing it recently is when we’re in meetings. And I just want something to do with my hands really. 

Expressions: So when you doodle it or was it like a trend you follow or something? Or What was more like a development you do? 

Strickland: I just doodle to like, just to get my hands moving in class. 

Expressions: Do you draw inappropriate things during school hours and why? 

Strickland: Sometimes I will do lettering and sometimes that lettering will be cuss words 

but most of the time I’m drawing in class it doesn’t look like anything it’s just led on paper.

Source: Wallstreetjournal.com