Sra. T was my high school Spanish teacher. I started Spanish in 9th grade and because of Sra. T, I fell in LOVE with it instantly. She loved us like we were her own children, she put stickers on our papers when we did well (hadn't seen those since elementary school!), and she made her classroom feel like HOME.
Today, I am a Spanish teacher. I majored in Spanish in college because she turned the language into my passion. I was pre-med at first, but then I realized I loved all things school, loved people, and didn't want to "just see them when they were sick".
When I made the decision to teach and started taking education courses, I realized that most of my ideas of what it meant to teach language all came from my 4 years in Sra. T's classroom. The games, the songs, the videos, the FUN and joy of learning...The way she would give us nicknames, let us choose Spanish names, and would call us "Señor" and "Señorita", her goofy voices and random tunes... I do them too! :) She also would make worksheets that had sentences about EACH of us on them and create fun themed translations based on what was going on in the world-- holidays/Winter Olympics, etc.
To have her class was to love her.
When I realized how much she'd fully impacted my life's course, I sat down and wrote a heartfelt and lengthy letter...
SHE WROTE BACK! And better yet, she did so in the form of an "I Love Lucy" postcard! (She used to reference I <3 Lucy all the time). It was the most exciting piece of mail in my dorm mailbox! :)
I had the honor of observing in her classroom (see below) as well as helping teach her students for a day. Sra. T retired the year before I began my career, so she bequeathed me much of her classroom items.
I literally felt that she passed on the torch to me. To this day I am honored and humbled to have been her student and to carry on her legacy in my own classroom.
Gracias, Sra. T.
Usted es mi inspiración y el centro de mi corazón español.
Ahora y siempre.
Con amor y gratitud sin fin,
"Margarita"
For photos, Click HERE and scroll down.
Showing posts with label Spanish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spanish. Show all posts
11.13.2009
eek! there are blogs in my classroom!!!
No worries! There's no need to be afraid of blogs in an academic setting. Weblogs ("blogs) are a Web 2.0 technology that can be successfully integrated into a classroom and support learning in familiar yet new manners. What do I mean by that? Some existing instructional strategies that fit well with blog use in a classroom are: writing/journaling, reflecting, discussion, and sharing found resources.
Why? Well, just as I am currently writing a reflection about blogs/Web 2.0, it is easy for students to write reflections in this format. Not only does the technology revolve around posting personal insights/reflections, but it also allows for comments (and subscriptions to others' blogs through RSS feeds), which are an easy way for students to "discuss" the posted content and see what others are "saying". This allows every students "voice" to be "heard" and allows them time to formulate responses without being put "on the spot" in the classroom itself. Also, sharing websites or providing links to different resources is easily accomplished with a blog. Classmates can easily click on links you provide and view the resources you want to share.
Does EVERYTHING fit well with blog use? Wouldn't that be great? Of course that's not the case, though. Cooperative learning does not work well if conducted entirely via blogs. While students could discuss the assignment and share resources, they would not be able to use a blog to construct the entire project, as they could in, say GoogleDocs. Also, the asynchronous nature of blogs does not allow for guided practice or immediate feedback. Students have to post and then wait to hear back from the instructor and/or classmates. In this way, if a student was trying to practice a concept and wanted help right away, the blog would not be able to provide a means for that.
What about using blogs in YOUR Spanish classroom? Great question! I could see blogs being used in my classroom a variety of ways. In a basic Spanish course, blogs could be used to discuss and post reflections on cultural topics, such as bull fighting or the notion of "siesta". Students might also use blogs to create basic sentences and paragraphs in the target language. In higher level courses, students could create their blogs entirely in Spanish, reflecting, discussing, and demonstrating advanced levels of grammatical skill. Again, culture-based discussions would be great in this forum, as students could speak from their own perspective with more comfort than they might have in an in-class discussion. For example, if the topic were the Latino-organized school walkouts in Los Angeles in the late '60s, students could research and investigate more online, then create an informed discussion through their blogs.
In general, blogs can be highly useful in the classroom. Even if the teacher is the only person who creates one and uses it to keep students and parents informed, it will have increased connectivity. The notion that students and teachers alike could tap into this resource to create another, "virtual" classroom/learning space is EXCITING and should not be regarded with fear and resistance. So try one out. Share it with your students. You may find that "blogs in your classroom" can be a GOOD thing!
Why? Well, just as I am currently writing a reflection about blogs/Web 2.0, it is easy for students to write reflections in this format. Not only does the technology revolve around posting personal insights/reflections, but it also allows for comments (and subscriptions to others' blogs through RSS feeds), which are an easy way for students to "discuss" the posted content and see what others are "saying". This allows every students "voice" to be "heard" and allows them time to formulate responses without being put "on the spot" in the classroom itself. Also, sharing websites or providing links to different resources is easily accomplished with a blog. Classmates can easily click on links you provide and view the resources you want to share.
Does EVERYTHING fit well with blog use? Wouldn't that be great? Of course that's not the case, though. Cooperative learning does not work well if conducted entirely via blogs. While students could discuss the assignment and share resources, they would not be able to use a blog to construct the entire project, as they could in, say GoogleDocs. Also, the asynchronous nature of blogs does not allow for guided practice or immediate feedback. Students have to post and then wait to hear back from the instructor and/or classmates. In this way, if a student was trying to practice a concept and wanted help right away, the blog would not be able to provide a means for that.
What about using blogs in YOUR Spanish classroom? Great question! I could see blogs being used in my classroom a variety of ways. In a basic Spanish course, blogs could be used to discuss and post reflections on cultural topics, such as bull fighting or the notion of "siesta". Students might also use blogs to create basic sentences and paragraphs in the target language. In higher level courses, students could create their blogs entirely in Spanish, reflecting, discussing, and demonstrating advanced levels of grammatical skill. Again, culture-based discussions would be great in this forum, as students could speak from their own perspective with more comfort than they might have in an in-class discussion. For example, if the topic were the Latino-organized school walkouts in Los Angeles in the late '60s, students could research and investigate more online, then create an informed discussion through their blogs.
In general, blogs can be highly useful in the classroom. Even if the teacher is the only person who creates one and uses it to keep students and parents informed, it will have increased connectivity. The notion that students and teachers alike could tap into this resource to create another, "virtual" classroom/learning space is EXCITING and should not be regarded with fear and resistance. So try one out. Share it with your students. You may find that "blogs in your classroom" can be a GOOD thing!
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