Practicum Reflections, a Silly Story, a Soccer Game

4-August-2019, Sunday, 2:40 PM CDT

Hello Constant Reader, and thanks for coming back this week to read of what’s going on south of the border. Last week I wrote about a lesson I planned for the practicum and promised I’d share how it went in this post. Well, for the most part, it went really well. Students paid attention while I explained the different parts of an essay, most were able to differentiate between the different parts, and all were challenged by the practice I had planned--a little too challenged I discovered.

Between the hook, thesis statement, transitions, explanations and so on, the sample essay was broken into fifteen parts. For the one advanced class that I taught, I think the difficulty of the activity was perfect. But for the other classes that are closer to basic, the task was too challenging. I believe it’s good to give students input that’s a bit beyond their current level so they’re constantly improving. But this activity was more than a bit beyond their level. My colleagues suggested cutting it down to one body paragraph or including fewer specific parts of the essay. Both were good ideas that will be implemented for the next time I teach the lesson.

A few end-of-practicum words from Josh Spetter

On a different day of the practicum, I met two students for the first time. From the beginning of class they were on their phones or laptops looking at cars and off-task. Like all good teachers should, I made them a priority because the rest of the class was on-task. I called on one for an answer, and he gave an exceptional one. I praised his answer and did not tell him to put his phone away because nobody likes being told what to do. After listening to the answers they were whispering and not sharing (because they were inappropriate), I learned that they spoke, probably, the best English of the class. RIght then I decided that they needed more challenging work. When they finished the assigned stuff, I asked them to write their own questions, ones for me to answer. They responded to the challenges I gave them and personally said goodbye after class. I think it’s better to “catch” students being good and give them positive attention than to constantly tell them, “Be quiet. Put your phone away. Pay attention.” Like I said, nobody likes being told what to do.

"Look everybody, a thesis!"

I don't know, playing parts?

One day in Spanish class this week, our teacher asked us to write a story together. She gave us a subject, we wrote one or two sentences on it, then passed the paper to the next person. Of course it ended up funny. Here’s the translation of one:

Exquisite Corpse

By: John-Michael Bloomquist, Jason Canhoto, Erin Duncan, Grace Kim, Kory Kramer, Kyle Mellon, and Andrew Willis 

One day, looking back on my life, I remembered that, when I was a boy, I was walking through the forest when I found a centaur. I was single because my wife existed only in my mind. My job was a dictator. The cat did not find new planets, but that is better. The cat fell in love with an alien cat. They were very happy. Suddenly, Trump and Putin started a nuclear war. In my dreams I saw a cow. Finally, I decided to go home after a long day.

Last night my buddy Rob and I went to a soccer game. It was the first pro soccer game of my life. Gallos Blancos (White Roosters) played Cruz Azul (Blue Cross). We cheered for the home team, Gallos Blancos, and they won 3 - 0. It was a lot of fun. Here’s a cool cultural difference: two bottles of beer cost 85 pesos (about $4.50), which is cheaper than in many bars around the city. In the US, how much do we pay for beer at a stadium event?

Estadio Corregidora 

¡Vamos Gallos Blancos!

Hustlers in foreground, city in background

Now for some random stuff. Some of my favorite Spanish words: bufanda (scarf), mariposa (butterfly), palomitas (popcorn), estupefacto (astonished), and enfurecer (infuriate), it’s common for women to clean the mens’ bathroom without closing it, the other night Robert Porto said, "I'm gonna go to the bathroom and eat this tamale," the other day I watched as my “niece” made cupcakes with an Easy Bake oven and missed my family a lot, this weekend I attended a friend’s birthday party and there was a piñata (you’re never too old to have a few swings), and Mexico’s college students are smart, driven, and funny. Till next time.

PC Mexico Party Time