1.06.2011

Gracias.

This afternoon, two young ladies from the local high school came down to begin some basic Spanish lessons with our class. I’ve had students from the high school come before and usually with mixed results. To be fair, my expectations weren’t super high. Boy was I wrong.

These two seniors came in and took over… and I mean that in the best way possible. They had the class make a circle and then proceeded to lead them in a short lesson in saying ‘hello,’ ‘What is your name?’ and ‘My name is…’ By the time they left we were all speaking Spanish better then when they arrived.

What struck me most was how well they managed the group without any direction from Mrs. D. or myself. They kept them engaged and on task for almost thirty minutes, no small feat in kindergarten. These young women praised the children constantly and reminded them to listen and keep their hands and feet to themselves. Mrs. D. and I were amazed.

Our new amigos will be back every week to help us improve our Spanish. They have our entire class (including me) excited about learning… as each child left today, I got a big ‘Adios amigo!’ A few mangled it (my favorite was “Ami-mos mos-migo”), but the exhilaration about learning was there… and for that all I can say is… gracias.

4 comments:

Betsy said...

Sounds like you have some future teachers on hand! That is great. Muy bien!

Natalie Waters Seum said...

A wonderful example of service-learning boosting achievement for all.

Anonymous said...

As a high school teacher, this made me smile and want to scream Woo Hoo! Thanks for giving our young adults the credit they are do.....and make sure you let them know. Too often our society forgets to compliment our high schoolers about what great people they really are. Awesome story!,,

Deborah said...

I am excited for the young teachers in the making too! They have clearly received some excellent advice or training!! Either that or they have some serious experience. How fun for your class!