Innocence
The opening stanza situates Mrs. Tilscher’s classroom as both a metaphorical representation of, and literal incubator for, childhood innocence. Within its walls, life is happy and secure. The world beyond the walls of the classroom is presented as a place of wonder, through maps showing intriguing, faraway places: any part of the outside world that is harsh or bad is kept at bay. Not only do outside events feel magically exciting, but childhood makes every sensory experience within the classroom feel novel, from the erasure of drawings on a chalkboard to the color of paper. By the end of the poem, the speaker's childhood innocence is on the verge of disappearing—but, wanting only to grow up, she and her peers are unaware of what they will soon lose.
Security
Despite the wonderful things and places the students in Mrs. Tilscher's class encounter, they never learn about or dwell on the ills of the world outside their school. The poem briefly but jarringly mentions Brady and Hindley, a couple infamous for murdering multiple children in England during the 1960s. The choice of this particular allusion is a reminder that even children aren't safe from evil. However, their safety is ensured in at least one place—school. This effort to close out anything dangerous extends even to normal elements of adult life. When asked to speak about sexuality, Mrs. Tilscher refuses, demonstrating her determination to preserve a state of control and safety for her students.
Sexual Awakening
Even Mrs. Tilscher and the protective authority of school can’t shield the speaker and her peers from adulthood and its accompanying knowledge, most prominently sexuality. The speaker watches her classroom tadpoles turn into frogs, but, still very much a child, she does not connect that process to issues of reproduction and sexuality. Rather than encountering knowledge about sex in the careful, loving way through which she absorbs Mrs. Tilscher's lessons, the speaker learns from a "rough" boy in an abrupt, distressing way. Her typical authority figures prove unable to help. Learning about sex has made the speaker feel alarmed by her own parents, and Mrs. Tilscher avoids the topic. The only way for the speaker to continue on the path towards adulthood is by learning outside of the safety of school.
