Becky Hopkinson

I resigned. Now what?//Renuncié. ¿Y ahora?

Welcome! You’re officially a part of my “Read Read Read and I promise you’ll learn Spanish” experiment (whether you like it or not). I’ll be writing a post to explain this in more detail with all sorts of academic references to support my methods, but for now, just trust me. Before we get started: PromiseContinue reading “I resigned. Now what?//Renuncié. ¿Y ahora?”

3 weeks down. 33 to go.

Maybe it’s not exactly 33, but I did a quick count looking at the school calendar, and that’s the number I counted up to. I don’t think there is a teacher in the United States who will disagree with me when I say that this year is by far the most challenging year I’ve everContinue reading “3 weeks down. 33 to go.”

How a college class convinced me to try something new in my classroom (and why I no longer deduct points for late work).

Tonight I was reflecting on my favorite class in college and I realized I cannot remember the professor’s name*. Also, my recollection of the class may be hazy as it has been quite a few years since my college days so let’s catalogue this post under “inspired by real events.” All we were expected toContinue reading “How a college class convinced me to try something new in my classroom (and why I no longer deduct points for late work).”

Confessions of a CI Teacher

During my prep period today, a 4th grade student passed me in the hall. “¡Hola profe!” he said. We chatted in Spanish for a bit and then I asked, “¿Adónde vas? Al baño o a clase?” “¡Al baño, profe! ¡Adios!” and then headed to the bathroom beaming with pride. This is why I teach usingContinue reading “Confessions of a CI Teacher”

“What about the books?”

I finally did it. I became a cart teacher. I have pushed against the idea of using a cart for so many reasons. Mainly, I didn’t want the students to have the visual of me struggling to get into the class, so, instead, I’ve been using a bag that my dear grandmother made me overContinue reading ““What about the books?””

How (I hope) I got my trouble-maker students to be respectful

Two weeks ago, I hit a wall. My students were off their rockers. Everything was chaotic. I felt chaotic. I LOOKED CHAOTIC! I was the Spanish teacher zooming around the halls looking stressed out and panicked. Why? BECAUSE I WAS STRESSED OUT AND PANICKING. Why? Well, for a number of reasons, all of which wereContinue reading “How (I hope) I got my trouble-maker students to be respectful”