I don’t like to whine about my teaching assignment but Spanish 101, seriously? Does anybody really believe I’m not totally wasted on Spanish 101? It’s like trying to kill a mosquito with the Hubble telescope.
101
Opinions, art, debate
Clarissa's Blog 
This doesn’t sound right — you don’t have enough clout with the university to complain that your demonstrated talents as an advanced Spanish teacher are being wasted on such an elementary class???
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The good news is that you are not alone. The bad news is that it will not be the last time.
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Didn’t you mention once that at your institution everybody teaches all levels of the major/program?
I have to teach Freshman Composition at my institution (the English equivalent of Spanish 101). It’s not my favorite and I think I’m better with more advanced classes. Truth be told, I don’t know any full time faculty who want to teach Freshman Composition but I do see the wisdom in making everybody teach a range of classes. It ensures that experienced faculty teach foundational courses and makes faculty understand the full range of students coming through the program. It also prevents drama and “diva” behavior on the part of faculty: we just all have to collectively suck it up and teach it–no matter how accomplished (or unaccomplished) we might be. It’s my least favorite part of my job for sure. But I do “get” why I teach it.
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I’m OK with doing 102, 201, 202, etc. But 101 is such a stupid course. I hate it. The disparities in initial level of preparedness are smoothed out by the time of Spanish 102 but in 101 the disparities are so enormous (we have these categories of true beginners and false beginners) that it’s very hard to teach.
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Do you think the class should exist? Is there any way to just bypass it and get students to 102?
I actually think Freshman Composition does very little good and that the students would be better served just taking literature classes. But, to a large extent, Freshman Composition is what justifies my existence to an administration that is hostile to the Humanities. So I just teach it and try to make it as useful as possible to the students.
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“So today class, remember that in Spanish there are three verb conjugations and we are entering a post-nation-state era of fluidity.”
“Next week, we’ll look at the vowels in some verbs change in the present tense and do a quick survey on the literature of the crisis.”
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Actually what Cliff says is pretty much what the latest theories recommend. So if you could reconsider your attitude and views that pedagogy was set in stone in the 90s you might discover that there is much more to Spanish 101 than you imagine.
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OK, what’s with the sudden attack of aggression?
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