Once upon a time, in a Spanish class far far away, there was an unwanted visitor. 

The unwanted visitor is the ogre Shrek. He is a familiar guest, but many have wondered if the teacher, Señor Preator, has an obsession. Well, the true story takes place a long long time ago.

Students who have taken a Spanish class or even stepped into the Spanish room can see the abundance of Shrek pictures. There are large ones, easily seen, and smaller ones that take an eagle’s eye to spot. But how long have they been here? 

“It all started in 2007,” Spanish teacher Señor Preator said. “When I was trying to teach my students.” 

The Shreks started appearing after Preator was trying to help his students name the location of an item. Conveniently, he had a toy Shrek. His use of the toy led the students to believe he had an obsession, and they soon began to bring him other Shrek-related gifts. 

“It didn’t take long for the kids to think I liked Shrek,” Preator said. “Then Shreks just started showing up.” 

The Shreks provide an air of comedy to the classroom and give the students something to joke about. As the students acclimate to the Spanish environment, they can laugh about all the strange places the Shreks have been found. But as students return to the class every year, their view of it changes.

“Shrek was really funny my freshman year,” Spanish IV student and junior Ava Stearns said. “But now I think he is kinda creepy.” 

As Spanish students look around the classroom, they can see other types of decor, such as the Duolingo bird. But the Shreks vastly outnumber the bird 10:1, but why? Alex Watts, a Spanish III student and avid Duolingo lover has strong feelings about the neglect of his best friend, Duo. 

“In my opinion, I think Shrek represents Preator as a whole,” Watts said. “But as a Spanish class, I think that there should be more of Duo.”

The absence of Duo is a problem for Watts in the Spanish-centered classroom. To resist the overwhelming odds, Watts proposed that the students should start bringing their own Doulingo decorations and plastering Preator’s walls. So please feel free to join Alex in his journey and aid the Spanish room, find funny ways to hide Duo in his class.