Classroom Pass is an Iowa Now project that sent teams of writers, photographers, and videographers to 15 classes on Wednesday, Oct. 22, to showcase the breadth and strength of the University of Iowa's academic offerings for undergraduates as well as its dynamic faculty and state-of-the-art facilities. See what other classes they visited.

Class: Orientation to Elementary Education
Instructor: Ellen Herman, clinical professor of teaching and learning

Lara Shema strides down the halls of Lucas Elementary School in Iowa City, a floral notebook tucked confidently into the bend of her right elbow, a pen at the ready.

She is wearing a smile and a red bow in her hair.

When she arrives at Barb Haack’s third-grade classroom, Shema is welcomed with open arms and a list of duties; among them are sorting poems and working one-on-one with a student during social studies.

She beams with anticipation.

Shema hopes to have a classroom of her own someday. But for now she is serving a 10-week practicum at the school while working toward a degree in elementary education. She also plans to receive certification in reading and in talented and gifted education.

Today, Shema works with a boy who is struggling to read and write. There are gaps in the boy’s education, but he is creative and observant. Shema reads to him about the Grand Canyon; the information and the picture of the steep-sided canyon intrigue him.

“Was there a volcano there?” he asks.

Shema always knew she wanted to be a teacher. But when she was 18 and fresh out of Washington High School in Cedar Rapids in 2006, it was tough to trust that inner voice.

After a stint in the Navy Reserve, an associate degree from Kirkwood Community College, and a short career in information technology, Shema decided to follow her dream.

At the end of class, the boy eagerly hands Shema his rendering of the Grand Canyon.

“I’m right where I need to be,” she says.