Kentukiana
Teaching Spanish in a «Kentucky» classroom: the teacher's series.
KENTUKIANAS
The diary of a Spanish teacher freshly landed in a Kentucky classroom: the complete Kentukiana series, chapter by chapter.
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KENTUKIANA 0: Welcome to the 'Wildcats' World
Should I have been nervous about what was coming my way? It was Tuesday, August 22, and the school year was officially beginning. Suddenly there I was, alone, in the classroom of an American school …
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KENTUKIANA 1: 'Classroom management'
Still at the high school, and inside that magnificent auditorium, on closing day we were about three hundred people gathered there. Between teaching and non-teaching staff, including a police officer, all three schools were represented …
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KENTUKIANA 2: The First Day of Class
As if it were a soccer match, let's say I ended up being handed a 1-2 defeat, and at home no less, since the playing field was none other than my own classroom. However, after the last …
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KENTUKIANA 3: Teaching Spanish in a 'Kentuckian' Classroom
Once the first week at school was behind me, both the second and the ones that followed were more positive and, above all, hopeful. The kids started behaving better, though I couldn't quite declare victory yet, for there would come days …
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KENTUKIANA 4: 'The Limits of My Language' (Part I)
I think my students have started to see me as an alien who speaks in jotas, zetas, and erres. On top of not quite knowing where Spain is, one student asked me if it was …
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KENTUKIANA 5: 'The Limits of My Language' (Part II)
I definitely feel like an extraterrestrial. Surrounded by so many North American earthlings, what with inches, gallons, yards, miles and all the rest of their versions, I find myself as confused as lost Gurb wandering around Barcelona. I get that feeling in countless …
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KENTUKIANA 6: Should I stay or should I go?
After five months on the school front lines, I've found I'm getting the situation more and more under control, or at least I think so. The students know you better and you know them. In this …
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KENTUKIANA 7: 'Fútbol' at School
Just back from Christmas break, on January 2, the idea came up of incorporating the teaching of European soccer into the Spanish classes. The play came straight from the bold mind …
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KENTUKIANA 8. Classroom Stuff: 'Anecdotes'
Since the school year began last August 22 until these first days of March, I've had more ups and downs than 'downs-and-ups,' if you'll allow me the expression. I've spent more than six months on the …
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KENTUKIANA 9. 'Like All the Crazy Ones'
Dear passengers, at cruising speed and after continuous turbulence, I am pleased to announce that we are beginning our descent toward the end of an unforgettable and all the more revealing school year. Behind us lie the seven months of trenches and …
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KENTUKIANA 10 (Part I): Where I said 'I'm staying', I now say 'I'm going back'
A few months ago, back in February, the manager of the education program in Kentucky wrote to me asking for an answer on whether I was going to continue next school year or, on the contrary, had decided to return to …
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KENTUKIANA 11 (Part II). Where I Said 'I'm Staying,' I Now Say 'I'm Going Back'
(Continued from KENTUKIANA 10 (Part I): Where I Said 'I'm Staying,' I Now Say 'I'm Going Back') The great revelation came first thing in the morning, around 8:15. I began the class by explaining the names of the animals on a farm such …
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