Public Confession: My kids "take" Spanish for high school because it's the language I am closest to knowing...which means, you guessed it, I don't speak, read, or write Spanish. I do know a few words and memorized sentences from having lived in California for so many years, and can "read", even if I don't know what I'm reading. Actually, I can make out a bit of what I read but I haven't been able to put a sentence together to save my life (only an expression, so far).
Well, I always say "you don't have to know it to teach it" (at the high school level). You give them the tools for learning: the ability to read and study, and the right materials; and they pass you up. But in this particular subject, I've been looking for the "right materials" for years (not able to bring myself to buy an expensive program, when money is tight and math and science are so crucial).
Spanish by Association, by Michael M. Gruneberg, is one of my new picks for this year. Over the past few days I've been going through the first section, and actually getting excited. I can make sentences! Wow. If this book turns out as well as I think it's going to, I'm going to be one happy camper! Not only because hopefully my sons will be able to really learn some Spanish, but because maybe I can finally begin to wrap my mind around it. I would be quite willing to give up my statement that I only know one language.
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