Today I did my first classroom observation for my pre-institute work. It was super cool! I am now feeling more excited about being a teacher than I had felt previously. I guess the reason I wasn’t really excited before this was because I was just doing this reading and watching these videos, but I didn’t feel like I could actually concretely use that information to control my own classroom. But after watching Jolie and her second graders this morning, I feel much better about it.

I began my morning by getting lost a couple of times. I had allowed extra time, so it was ok. The reason I got lost is because the stupid street signs are miniature and way off to the side. Not helpful. I did make it to the school by the agreed upon time, and I took a minute to look around. Heatherwod Elementary is up on a hill, so when one looks southwest one gets an absolutely incredible view of the city of Boulder with the Flatirons behind it. Those kids are really lucky, but they probably don’t realize it. I went and checked in with the front office, got my spiffy visitor’s badge, and then met Jolie. She’s a very warm individual. The kids must love her.

Heatherwood is what you could call an “open” school, meaning that there aren’t any walls. They just have things like cubbies, tables, and posters to mark off where one classroom begins and another ends. I’d never seen anything like this before. I asked Jolie about it later and she said she didn’t mind it, but that she had never known anything else. She said it makes for really great classroom management. I am sure.

The kids began their day with announcements from Jolie- my introductions included. This classroom is where my friend Sarah student taught last semester, so when Jolie said that I was a friend of Miss Cantrell’s, there was an audible gasp among the students. I had kids coming up to me throughout the morning: “You know Miss Cantrell?” “Where is Miss Cantrell?” “Will you tell Miss Cantrell to call our school? Like today?” Yes, being the best friend of a celebrity has its perks.

Since school ends next week, Jolie told me that the day was not quite as structured as it would have been earlier in the year. She was kind enough to show me her literacy instruction, where she would track the kids reading out loud. “Now,” she says, “I’m not so worried about them. They’re all reading on fourth, fifth, and sixth grade levels. At this point in the year, I’m just keeping them busy so they don’t strangle each other.” Good plan.

The kids have been doing a unit on insects, and they grew some butterflies in the classroom and today was the day to set them free. After first recess we trooped outside to observe the butterflies. One butterfly had tried to escape earlier in the day through a small hole in the netting. We had to catch it and keep it under a cup. I was in charge of carrying this wayward insect. The students had dubbed this one Frederick, and later, when the kids wrote up their observation sheets, one wrote about how Miss Cantrell’s friend had to carry Frederick by himself. Aw, how sweet.

I was also given the opportunity to help one girl with her spelling. I am not sure if she has mild dyslexia or if spelling is just hard for her. But it was fun! She had a lot of trouble with “block” and “puddle”. I think the “uh” sound trips her up. “Think about the sounds the letters make,” I told her. She started sounding out “block.” “Buh…. buh…” “B, U, L, um, I can’t remember after that.” She spelled it with a U a couple of times. But after a while, she was able to spell all of the words without any problems. I think she will ace her test this afternoon.

Of course I understand that my future students will be different from the students I saw today. Regardless, I think that I can actually do this- and maybe even do it well. I am approaching Teach for America with a renewed vigor- and I can’t wait to meet my students!