A recent article in the New York Times takes another look at Spain's silence regarding its painful past. With the new generations being the first to grow up completely independent of the bloody war that tore families and neighbors apart and the subsequent 4-decade dictatorship, they are also the first to openly speak about and examine the past, while their parents and grandparents choose to look straight forward. A new law has been put in place to rid the country of
symbols and monuments of Generalismo Francisco Franco and his regime, but is this really the answer? Are they hiding from the past or  revisiting it? Or is it both?

Read the article here

 
Plans for Peru 01/15/2008
 

Mi nuevo proyecto, o, es decir, aventura, estará ir a Perú durante el verano que viene. Una amiga mía trabaja con el Cuerpo de Paz en Santo Domingo, y nosotras habiamos planeando un programa en que planearé  y enseñaré algunas clases del periodismo en los dos colegios allí. Estoy muy emocionada de irme. Sin duda, será difícil, tengo muchas ganas de empezar a construir mis lecciones y descubrir como combinar todas mis cosas favoritas (el periodismo, el español, y la enseñanza) y adaptarlos para los alumnos de Santo Domingo. ¡Más noticias en seguida!

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My newest project, or adventure, really, will be going to Peru during this coming summer. A friend of mine works in the Peace Corps in Santo Domingo, and we have been planning a program in which I will plan and teach some journalism classes over a three-week period in the two high schools there. I am very excited to go. Of course, it will be difficult, but I am looking forward to begin constructing my lessons and discovering how to combine my favorite things (journalism, Spanish, and teaching) and adapt them for the students in Santo Domingo. More news to come!

 
 

Mi asignatura de TE 407 me había hecho pensar en cómo podemos huir de los métodos tradicionales del aprendizaje de una idioma extranjera.  Como alguien con una especialidad en periodismo, tengo una obsesión con todas las cosas relacionadas a los medios de comunicación y la cultura popular, y creo que puede ser una moda muy valoriosa y pertinente para hacer conecciónes del mundo real a la aula.  Siempre estoy buscando maneras de integrar los dos. ¿Cuál es la mejor? Espero descubrir algunas nuevas.

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My TE 407 class has got me really thinking about how we can break out of the "traditional" approaches to learning a foreign language.  As a journalism major, I'm obsessed with all things related to media and popular culture, and believe it can be an extremely valuable and relevant way to make connections from the real world to the classroom.  I'm always looking for ways to integrate the two. What's the best way? I hope to discover some new ones.

 

Kathryn Luscombe, Michigan State University Secondary Education Program