Graduation reflections 2021

 I don't know how everyone else feels, but after spring 2021 I feel like I've been kicked in the teeth.  At my core relationships are what makes me tick.  Teaching kids in masks just didn't feel right.  I couldn't see their expressions to check for understanding.  I used Zoom which was great for many things but just not the same as actual human interaction.  And lots of 0s.  More students just didn't turn stuff in than in previous semesters.  Yuck.

Yesterday I was a part of graduation and I loved it.  It reminded me why I do this job.

We have 30 countries represented at WC by students who are attending here from around the world.  Wow.  That's amazing.  Yesterday faculty carried flags from each of those countries.  It was my honor to carry Mexico's flag.  The irony is that even though I'm fluent in Spanish and I have such a heart for the Hispanic world, I have no biological ties to the Hispanic world.  (Actually, maybe I do...I was adopted as a baby and don't know my heritage.  I'm a redhead and very fair-skinned so I've always assumed a Celtic heritage, but maybe I'm wrong?  Yes, I know I could probably find out but as the kids say, ain't nobody got time for that).

As I proudly carried the Mexican flag at the beginning of graduation my eyes filled with tears.  I'm a part of an institution where students can pursue education.  They are welcome to come just as they are.  Through Spanish Club I'm getting to know students on a deeper level than in the classroom and I love being a part of their journey.

A student graduated yesterday that's fluent in Spanish so I never taught her, but she was an officer in Spanish Club.  She's going on to nursing school in the fall.  Her family is from Mexico and carrying that flag was a salute to her culture.  How beautiful.

I don't always feel like I fit in.  I know many of us feel like our insecure middle school self still lurks inside of us, just beneath a confident smile.  For me, it's challenging at work because I'm the only full time Spanish instructor.  I don't have a colleague to bounce ideas off of.  I'm very fortunate that my adjunct, Anel, is amazing and very willing to help when I ask.  

With the OER project I've now written all 5 chapter quizzes and the 2 tests:  the midterm and the final.  They're very bare bones--if the students know the material they should be "easy."  My goal with this whole project is to focus on learning the material of the class:  speak, read, write and understand Spanish.  And add in culture as I can.

Anel proofread the quizzes and tests and gave me the green light.  She had some excellent suggestions to make the instructions clearer and she caught an error.  Whew.

As I'm launching this new project soon I'm getting excited.  One of the big changes is instead of making "homework" 30% of the grade, I'm making "practice" 15% and "application" 15%.  The big idea is to help them focus more on the actual learning of the material instead of just getting grades.

So, for the "practice" piece I've built assignments that are linked to Quizlet.  Here's the first they're assign to do: https://quizlet.com/_8g5uns?x=1jqt&i=2jd7wv

Here's where my story gets fun: I asked Phillip, my colleague who teaches leadership classes, if he thought this was a good idea.  I'm concerned about the logistics of if they don't do these assignments.  (I've taught long enough to know that when a students has lots of 0s it causes trouble at the end of the semester and I try to avoid setting them up to fail).  His suggestion was brilliant:  make an assignment at the very beginning of class that shows them exactly how to do these assignments so they can practice with it, get familiar with it and be awarded with a good grade.  Make it nothing to do with Spanish so they can just focus on how to do the assignment.

Brilliant!  This is why teammates are wonderful.

So yesterday was my first time to wear my regalia since grad school.  I was an adjunct for a few semesters but didn't attend graduation.  Last spring I volunteered at the gate of graduation so I didn't wear my regalia.  This year I was proud to be a part of the faculty.  This is my community and it's nice to have a place to belong.