By Dylan Callaghan

As you step past the doorway of this Reynolds Hall classroom, not only are you greeted by sprawling maps of the United States and cheerful welcome signs, but you are also welcomed by the smile of 2nd Grade teacher Kenzie DeAlto.

DeAlto, in her second year at Collegiate, previously taught in the Chesterfield County Public School system for ten years. She attended Virginia Tech as an undergraduate, earning a degree in Human Development with a focus on adolescence and childhood, and received her Master’s of Teaching from VCU. 

Since my little brother Hunter (’35) is in her class, I had heard nothing but good things about DeAlto. I had also listened to countless tales told by my brother about his class that made me eager to visit, needing to see these seemingly mythological stories come to life.

For the first part of the morning, DeAlto allowed the students to talk to one another for a little while. The room began to fill with what can only be described as a cacophony. Conversations picked up in an instant, and I started to travel back to my own 2nd Grade days. The ease of conversation between these 2nd Graders and the seemingly meaningless topics that they spoke so passionately about all reminded me of how I once was, and how everyone probably once was, in their youth. 

As I sat at a desk in the corner, I was approached by a boy named Sahil (‘35). He began to claim that, at his house in Richmond, “there was either three or four feet of snow while it was 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit).” I am still wondering if there must be some kind of weather anomaly happening at Sahil’s house.

Robot being programmed by a student.

DeAlto rose to the front of the class, and, as a hush fell over the room, she explained that students would first be working on coding their three-wheeled robots for a States Fair presentation. The kids all pulled out their iPads and began to work immediately, refining their block coding. The students were programming these rolling robots to travel around their state map as they explained what each stop or city was along the way. I was impressed, to say the least. I was still trying to cut along the lines with scissors in 2nd Grade, yet these kids are learning advanced coding. 

Whenever a kid had a question, they simply raised their hand, and DeAlto would spring into action. DeAlto would walk them through the coding process, explaining not just how to do something but also why they were doing it. As I watched these seemingly simple moments, DeAlto’s joy for teaching and her genuine care for her students became immediately clear to me. Once she had helped guide the kids towards success with their robots, Hunter turned to me and said, “This is so super cool, bro.”

The excitement for States Fair, a 2nd Grade tradition where students represent a state assigned to them, was evident in the smiling faces of these 2nd Graders. They worked diligently to get as ready as they could for the event, which premieres for parents on May 9. While some continued working on their coding, others began working on commercials for their state. They talked through their scripts with DeAlto, who gave positive and helpful feedback. Once they felt their script was polished and ready to go, they headed out into the hallway to film these commercials with their iPads. It was as if I was watching young Steven Spielbergs at work, and the camera work was truly impressive.

Student coding on an iPad.

After the kids had worked for quite a while, DeAlto allowed the rest of the class to be spent how the students best saw fit. A group of kids began playing Mancala in the corner while also singing Taylor Swift songs with true elegance and grace. The intensity of their playstyle was similar to that of backroom poker. There was zero room for error in this 2nd Grade Mancala game. As I watched this game intensify, I overheard a side conversation happening and was immediately drawn to it. 

The debate was about what the best American food was, and it was a lively discussion. One boy turned and immediately exclaimed, “The best American food is cheeseburgers! Or french fries. But they don’t have those in France. What’s that about?” What had seemed like a simple answer from this young man had turned into such a philosophical and perplexing question. What was that all about? Before I could ponder any further, Sahil broke the silence with his take. Sahil said, “No, naan is the best American food. It’s delicious.” While there is very little dispute on whether naan is delicious, I would have to disagree that it originated as an American food. 

The class continued on like this, and I found myself bouncing around from conversation to conversation, laughing along with these 2nd Graders as they came up with one ridiculous joke after another. The longer I spent in the classroom, the more I began to feel that same youthful feeling that these kids did. It was the hour I spent in DeAlto’s classroom, watching her thoughtfully teach these kids with a smile on her face, that made me truly appreciate what it meant to be in 2nd Grade. It took me back to a time in my youth, and I, too, began to think that this was so super cool, bro.

Photos courtesy of Kenzie DeAlto.