Quince en Cincuenta
Jessica Curtis’ mantra is “15 in 50”, so what do you think that means? Imagine being in a Spanish class where the teacher orchestrates 15 strategic moves in 50 minutes. Now, if that doesn’t keep middle school students on their toes, I’m not sure what will. Having been in Jessica’s classroom on numerous occasions, I can attest to that happening – and finding myself participating. It’s simply contagious!
When Jessica took her talent to Chicago, she served as a presenter at the annual Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. The theme of the event was “Language is FUNdamental.”
About 75 teachers from across the region attended her high-octane session, which by the way, was not “sit and get.” Participants left pumped up and ready to enact some of Jessica’s engaging pedagogical strategies.
If you know Jessica, you don’t question how she spent her non-speaking time at the conference. Of course, she attended as many other sessions as she could fit into the time.
When asked what her biggest takeaways from the conference were, without hesitation, she said, “I left the conference feeling connected, encouraged, inspired and reminded that what I do every day is truly FUNdamental for students because language is the core to human connections. For me, learning a language is not just academic. It’s creative, hopeful and natural. Languages express our identity and empathy, allow us to make connections and build relationships. I was able to do this at the conference. This conference definitely lived up to its title – ‘Language is FUNdamental’.”
“Quince en Cincuenta” or 15 in 50, may not be for everybody – but for Jessica and her students it works!
