Environment & Values

When I first arrived at Lilac Elementary School, I was extremely apprehensive. I had not been in an elementary school since I was a student myself, and I had no idea how my experience would unfold. I was unsure of which door I should enter, so when I spotted a few students skipping toward an entrance, I followed them inside.

The exterior of the building was somewhat bleak and unwelcoming, so I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in; the walls were covered in bright hues and artwork. Whatever the building lacked in recent renovations and copious amounts of new technology it certainly made up for in character.

I checked in at the office and was instructed to have a seat and wait for the reading coach to come down. As I waited, I listened to the principal make the morning announcements, which included the word of the week. The word of that particular week currently escapes me- it was either “effort” or “respect.” She gave the definition of the word and used it in a sentence. I thought this was a fun way to introduce new and valuable words into students’ vocabulary; I always look at the word of the day online! The reading coach ended up being out that week (this turned into a frequent occurrence; she is expecting a baby in February), so an assistant showed us around the school. I thought it was great that most of the signs and posters on the walls were written in both English and Spanish- something I was not accustomed to at the elementary school I once attended. Whenever I spotted a class in the hallway, they were always perfectly lined up and quiet. Another thing I caught early on in this school is that the children were instructed to hold doors for other people. Whenever a child was in front of me (even if I was at the other end of the hallway), they would open the door and stand there until I passed through the threshold. It was evident that order and respect are two things instilled in this school.

For the first few days, I was assigned to Ms. Rigby’s room. She wore a scarf in her hair and was seemed relatively young. I was a little intimidated by her at first, because she managed to be direct/firm and creative/easy-going at the same time. It was clear that she preferred to exercise authority and instruction in an unconventional way, which is something I truly admired. After helping out there, I was able to peek into the other classrooms. Unlike the classroom I had been in, the others seemed more structured. The children were expected to sit neatly and keep from fidgeting. In one of the rooms, I noticed the teacher repeatedly commanded the students to “focus.” The set of values and expectations very obviously varied from room to room. I am hesitant to conclude that the school gives off any one particular vibe, simply for the fact that many people perceive the same environment differently. There is no way to compare certain values or beliefs, or to state that some are better than others; that they can coexist is amazing and humbling in and of itself.