“To describe teaches me that the subject of my attention always exceeds what I can see….I learn that when I see a lot, I am still seeing only a little and partially. I learn that when others join in, the description is always fuller than what I saw alone.”

(Learning to Describe, Describing to Understand pg. 150)

For as much as being an educator is about teaching content, the last three weeks of observing Spanish classes at the middle school level have shown me that an integral component to teaching content lies in the observations teachers make of their students. Although I will take over one class by the semester’s end, for the time being, my role is to learn through observing.

I observe from big picture aspects like content and delivery down to minutia such as the look on students’ faces as they walk in and who actually participates in choral readings with sound coming out of their mouth. At times, maybe more than I admit to myself, it is overwhelming how much is going on during a lesson to deliver the content. I wonder how perceptive the teacher is herself knowing that she is delivering the lesson, not me. I am only an observer at this point. Teachers are natural observers though. Once two periods pass and we have a planning period to dissect each class, I am blown away at how precious little manages to escape her keen eye. She picks up on just as much as I have and more. More importantly though, she is an encouragement and reinforces that I have the tools and the building blocks to create something create for the kids this semester and in my own future classroom.