Desde el IES Sierra de Ayllón: Third Observation: Queen Elizabeth

 

Jessica Church:

Good morning, everyone--how are you today?

Yesterday I had my third and last observation--the feeling is bittersweet!  I got to accompany our department "Queen" (Queen because she is our jefa, and also because her name is Isabel, and.... because she is our Queen!) which was a great way to end the experience.

(She had forgotten her crown at home....he he he....)

We started with her group of 2 Bachillerato, Humanidades.  Last week they had worked on a song (Raquel mentioned it in her post) and in the song the singer mentions "Prom", and Queen had asked me if I could talk about my experience as a high school student in the United States.  I looked throught my yearbooks and found a few "joyas", although I will only share one here...

(No, that hairstyle was not considered attractive, even in 2002!)

So, it was a pleasure watching Isabel lead them in a discussion where they compared and contrasted schools in the United States and those in Spain, while also having the opportunity to contribute some first-hand experience (and lots of pictures).  They discussed sports, clubs, hiring teachers, dances.... The topics were varied and the students were really interested. Some of them even stopped me outside at break to ask me more questions!

One of the things that I admire in Queen (and hope to emulate!) is the incorporation of two specific elements within the classroom: songs (which she uses a lot) and cultural aspects.  When we had a moment to sit down later in the morning I really enjoyed listening to her talk about the importance of opening up our students' experience (here in Ayllón many students don't see any practical application for English...), and giving them a larger view of the world.  After reflecting with her I realized that I don't really take advantage of the fact that I come from the United States to add more "depth" to our conversations in-class, and I rarely touch cultural topics.  Ridiculous and hard to believe, but it's true!!  Watching Isabel with the first group, and reflecting later, really has forced me reflect on the idea and I'm motivated to try and do a better job.

The second group that I visited was 1º Bachillerato Humanidades.  After a quick introduction, Isabel led them in a very interesting series of activities:

The handout that she gave them explains the activity very well.  Again, I loved seeing our Queen in-action, and was reminded of how important it is to incorporate cultural aspects into the classroom.  My favourite activity was the Webquest that she did at the end: she had them search for other big moments in sports where a lesson was learned or revenge was achieved.  I learned so much about so many things!  History, sports.... Again, it was fun to see the students so engaged in the conversation and to watch Isabel interacting with them and guiding them through the learning process.

I want to thank Queen for being a wonderful "hostess" for the morning, and for her infinite wisdom that she bestows upon us all throughout the year!