About

“Señorita M.” has an M.A. in Spanish Linguistics from Middlebury College. This is her 15th year of teaching Spanish. Prior to arriving at her current position, she taught Spanish at a private, independent school in Ohio for ten years, and then took a year off to travel the world.

She has traveled to at least 13 countries now, including Iceland, China, and Argentina, and spent two summers hiking across northern Spain. She is passionate about writing, language(s), travel, culture projects, online privacy, and minimalism; has seven years of experience in ballroom dance; and enjoys listening to music in languages she does not understand.

“I think back to Plato’s Republic when considering how best to teach. Socrates instructs us, “Therefore, you best of men, don’t use force in training the children in the subjects, but rather play. In that way can you better discern toward what each is naturally directed.” To discover that special place where work and play merge to create joyful, meaningful – and therefore valuable – learning is to discover a lifetime of self-directed learning.

This video makes me smile every time. But seriously–what incredible talent!

Index

  • HOME
    • FAQ Page: frequently asked questions and answers about language
    • THE PATO SHOW: Season 1 of The Pato Show
    • Adult Class: Duolingo posts & resources for parents
    • Curriculum: narrative-form explanation of major units
    • Archives: all the posts in list-form for easy navigation
  • Blog!: all blog posts
    • Teacher Blog: lesson highlights, ideas for teachers, quarter summaries
    • Linguistics: links & articles about language(s)
    • Essays/Prose: inspiration, longer essays, random prose, and travel-related posts, including my own photo collages
  • ABOUT
    • About: fun facts about me
    • Music: collection of music in languages other than English & other inspiration
    • Privacy: privacy policy, as per the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
    • Contact: contact information

Bulletin Board Fun

*”Bulletin Board Fun” slides are credited to James Chapman.

COMMAS: “Rabbit hunting.” vs. “Rabbit, hunting.” “‘Let’s eat Grandpa!’: Use commas. Don’t be a psycho.” This Is How Confusing Life Would Be Without Proper Punctuation– Fun Article!