When I was in highschool, I watched Selena almost every year in Spanish class. I remember the first time I saw it and how I cried at the end of the film. It's J Lo's first big movie, and Spanish teachers everywhere around the country own it and play it right before major vacations when they know that no real teaching will be possible in the classroom anyhow.
The best thing about Selena is that you can claim that it is a cultural exercise: the whole movie really is shaped about an identity crisis of the Mexican American woman. She lives between two worlds, never finding a real place in each, and finally winning over the hearts of both. But even if you don't decide to approach the cultural context of the film, it's just a damn good movie and the kids really like it.
I'm pulling the ultimate cop-out with option two: we aren't really analyzing the film, but rather just enjoying it before Thanksgiving break. I gave the kids a packet of busy work to do to keep them somewhat quiet during the film and sat correcting tests and entering grades. Just one more day of this malarky and I'll be home free...
Until then, an official thank you to Fox Studios for producing a film that saves every Spanish teacher in America at this time of year. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Sincerely,
Tori Hornstein
Monday, November 23, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Turning point
This blog entry is going to be short.
This week has been happy.
Classes have been good.
Work ended... when school ended.
No fights.
A good weekend coming up.
I have... free time.
And I slept soundly 3 nights in a row.
Is it... possible... that I've turned a corner here?
Cautiously optimisticly yours,
Tori
This week has been happy.
Classes have been good.
Work ended... when school ended.
No fights.
A good weekend coming up.
I have... free time.
And I slept soundly 3 nights in a row.
Is it... possible... that I've turned a corner here?
Cautiously optimisticly yours,
Tori
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Make it work
Last week I wrote about the violent crime that I feared would be a shot heard round the world. I'm afraid to report that I was, in some ways, right.
Since last monday when I wrote, there have been fistfights in school EVERY DAY, most as aftershocks to the main event. I tried remembering how many fights there were a YEAR at my highschool growing up. Maybe two or three- but never daily. Fights, in a sick way, are hilarious. Usually there's an administrator sprinting down the hall, followed by a wildebeest-type stampede of students looking to get a view of the action.
I still have enough humor left to laugh at the scenes of mayhem (and admit that if I were a student, I'd probably be in that stampede), but it's added another completely draining addition to my life here at school. Every day we have the additional job of security officer, checking each student for ID's, backpacks, jackets- making sure there aren't strangers lurking in the halls or weapons on anybody. And every day we must act as pacifists, constantly calming a revved up and unfocused student body, convincing them to leave the drama at the door and focus for an hour and a half on Spanish.
In a wierd way the wild environment has given more meaning to my job. I really do NOT need more stress, but on the same token I know that I must be an example of structure and support for my students in an environment where the focus is increasingly taken off learning. I also try to step back and remember that my school doesn't have metal detectors or police swarming the hall, and many of my peers in Teach For America teach in buildings that more closely resemble a jail than a school. I still work at a school, and I'm determined to be a factor in keeping it that way.
In other news, the DC fall weather is to DIE FOR! I finally get why fall is everyone's favorite season. It's the middle of November and the days are still a sweet, sunny 65 degrees with a crisp breeze blowing, and the nights are the kind of chilly made for hot spicy tea. Tomorrow I think I will cook a tasty fall dinner- maybe a chili! And celebrate these beautiful days.
Peace and love.
Since last monday when I wrote, there have been fistfights in school EVERY DAY, most as aftershocks to the main event. I tried remembering how many fights there were a YEAR at my highschool growing up. Maybe two or three- but never daily. Fights, in a sick way, are hilarious. Usually there's an administrator sprinting down the hall, followed by a wildebeest-type stampede of students looking to get a view of the action.
I still have enough humor left to laugh at the scenes of mayhem (and admit that if I were a student, I'd probably be in that stampede), but it's added another completely draining addition to my life here at school. Every day we have the additional job of security officer, checking each student for ID's, backpacks, jackets- making sure there aren't strangers lurking in the halls or weapons on anybody. And every day we must act as pacifists, constantly calming a revved up and unfocused student body, convincing them to leave the drama at the door and focus for an hour and a half on Spanish.
In a wierd way the wild environment has given more meaning to my job. I really do NOT need more stress, but on the same token I know that I must be an example of structure and support for my students in an environment where the focus is increasingly taken off learning. I also try to step back and remember that my school doesn't have metal detectors or police swarming the hall, and many of my peers in Teach For America teach in buildings that more closely resemble a jail than a school. I still work at a school, and I'm determined to be a factor in keeping it that way.
In other news, the DC fall weather is to DIE FOR! I finally get why fall is everyone's favorite season. It's the middle of November and the days are still a sweet, sunny 65 degrees with a crisp breeze blowing, and the nights are the kind of chilly made for hot spicy tea. Tomorrow I think I will cook a tasty fall dinner- maybe a chili! And celebrate these beautiful days.
Peace and love.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Realidades
Realidades is the name of my Spanish text book in Prince George's county. It means, "realities."
This weekend, my reality was that I needed to rest, relax and recharge. My mom came to visit me and help me get back on track. So I didn't go out on Halloween. I didn't drink or party or even do much besides clean my house, do my laundry, and get ahead. I set off for school today, thinking that I was in a better place and ready to get through till Thanksgiving.
But if life is teaching me anything, it's that with Teach For America, THERE IS NEVER A BREAK, and "reality" is always redefined. As soon as I arrived to school, I could tell that something was amiss. My first period class was off the walls, no one could focus. I kicked three students out in the first 15 minutes. No one would sit still or be quiet no matter how I begged.
The reason? I only found it out after lunch, after two periods of mayhem. One of my students had been violently stabbed, almost to death, over the weekend. He is in the hospital now, as my principal put it, "fighting." Kids were off the wall: talking about retaliation, guns in school, gangs, violence, territories... There was no way to focus the class, and no way to convince them that learning the verb "tener" was worth their time.
This week is going to be a new challenge, both for me as a teacher and me personally. I don't think it's hit me yet that MY STUDENT is in a hospital, maybe dying.
Realidades.
This weekend, my reality was that I needed to rest, relax and recharge. My mom came to visit me and help me get back on track. So I didn't go out on Halloween. I didn't drink or party or even do much besides clean my house, do my laundry, and get ahead. I set off for school today, thinking that I was in a better place and ready to get through till Thanksgiving.
But if life is teaching me anything, it's that with Teach For America, THERE IS NEVER A BREAK, and "reality" is always redefined. As soon as I arrived to school, I could tell that something was amiss. My first period class was off the walls, no one could focus. I kicked three students out in the first 15 minutes. No one would sit still or be quiet no matter how I begged.
The reason? I only found it out after lunch, after two periods of mayhem. One of my students had been violently stabbed, almost to death, over the weekend. He is in the hospital now, as my principal put it, "fighting." Kids were off the wall: talking about retaliation, guns in school, gangs, violence, territories... There was no way to focus the class, and no way to convince them that learning the verb "tener" was worth their time.
This week is going to be a new challenge, both for me as a teacher and me personally. I don't think it's hit me yet that MY STUDENT is in a hospital, maybe dying.
Realidades.
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