I have told my students in the Hispanic Civilization course that anybody who refers to Latin America as “a country” or “a nation” on the final exam will get an automatic grade of zero irrespective of how good the rest of the exam is. I don’t care if they do it simply because of carelessness but I’ve had enough of this, folks. Maybe this will finally teach them how to pay attention.

If this seems too harsh to you, please consider that I spend half of the course explaining the differences between Spanish-speaking countries. I show them a map in every single class meeting. What more can I do?

3 responses to “The Country of Latin America”

  1. Fie Upon This Quiet Life Avatar

    I have English majors who refer to every single book they encounter as a “novel.” It doesn’t matter what it is — poetry, drama, autobiography, non-fiction, an actual novel — everything is a novel. It makes me want to beat the stuffing out of a pillow.

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  2. Sarah Avatar

    Is this a quiz? :)*

    Get a map, print out all the countries separately and stick them in a line. Underneath, write LATIN AMERICA.
    Then, if your students are being a bit rowdy one day, get one them up to the front to put them in their rightful places. If they get it wrong, give them a hat which says “I should be in Geography”.

    *Warning: silly comment ahead

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  3. Ol. Avatar
    Ol.

    Bolivar would be proud of your students.

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