Wow! What a difference a day makes!  Or should I say, what a difference student rapport makes...

Last week, after the five bad apples disrupted and distracted the 40 other students who wanted to learn (or at least those who didn't mind learning), I wrote down the names of students who were particularly rude and those who were particularly polite and attentive.  I sent a note to management praising the GOOD students, but did not mention the bad.  In the weekly homework review, I wrote a story about how one of the attentive students 'won the girl' (Jennifer Anniston), of course, beating out one of the 'rude' (new word inserted into the story) students.  ha ha...

Last night, I taught 45 beginning Spanish students, the majority of whom did not really want to be there. MOST of the students, all males between the ages of 18 and 24, were attentive and polite. They had a mindset that if they had to be in class, then they might as well learn something.  There were about five students, however, who had no desire or intention of learning anything. It was like a typical high school classroom with one big difference: LEVERAGE.

These students chew tobacco instead of gum; they do not need to graduate, do not get a grade and do not need to show any achievement in the language. They do, however, get a $50 bonus just for showing up. Mind you, they don't have to be there mentally, just physically.  Class lasted for 1.5 hours, a perfect length for some, and 1.5 hours too long for a few others. Two students, who were sitting in the FRONT row, chatted through the entire class. Three others passed their cell phones back and forth as they watched videos and talked.  The other forty paid attention for the most part, in between distracting outbursts from the three video watchers and the distracting drone of the two chatterboxes in the front.  The truth of the matter is that everyone would have acquired more, if those five rude and obnoxious students had not been there.

This month, I had (still have) the honor of covering a few  presentations for Susan Gross. That's a tough position to be in, because Susan has BIG FEET!  In other words, she has some big shoes to fill!  Although it was an absolute pleasure filling in for her, I am eager to see her get back on her feet and presenting her own workshops.  For those of you who do not know, Susan is battling breast cancer-- Better said, she is BEATING breast cancer!  She has been undergoing treatments and is recuperating exceptionally well. I would expect no less from Susan, who happens to be one of the most focused and determined people I know. 

For those of you who missed Susan at Central States and CLTA, it was a pleasure meeting and working with all of you!  Thank you for graciously allowing me to fill in for Susan.  I am sure that you and everyone else reading this blog will join me in wishing Susan a speedy and full recovery!  Personally, I cannot wait to celebrate (her life and HEALTH) with her, her husband, Michael, and grandson, Nik, in IXTAPA! Susan, we are pulling for you and praying for you!

:)Carol

The deadline to register for the Ixtapa Conference is April 15 - just a month away! The conference will be held at beautiful Club Med in Ixtapa, Mexico, so don't miss this opportunity to attend an all-inclusive conference with some of the most experienced, gifted and well-respected TPRS® presenters/teachers in the country - Jason Fritze, Susan Gross, Kristy Placido, Leslie Davison, Scott Benedict & Carol Gaab.

• Conference Details
• Register Online