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Dalton News
Dalton Spanish Classes Zoom with Teenagers in Spain
On the first day in class after Spring Break, Spanish teacher Carmen Herrera connected all her classes with teenagers in Spain. The theme was: “We are in this together.”
Dalton students chatted in Spanish and asked and answered questions about their new daily routines and other topics of interest. Later, they reflected on their experience (below):
”Today in my Spanish class, I was able to have a unique opportunity. For thirty minutes, my peers and I talked with students from Spain in a Zoom call. It was extremely interesting to talk to the students about how their lives have changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the fact that we live across the Atlantic from each other, we shared many common experiences —like watching more television, staying up later—and we shared an uncertainty about the future. Although there is this uncertainty, being able to meet with these students really showed me how we as humans are united together in this fight against the coronavirus. Digital learning may not be the same as conventional school, but digital learning allows for so many more undiscovered educational opportunities, such as meeting with students across the world. For now, my life is drastically changed because of COVID-19, but digital learning has shown me that everyone’s lives have changed, and that unity is reassuring.” - Declan Finn ’22
"Speaking with students from Spain about the coronavirus was an invaluable experience. For the past few days, I have been in contact with friends and peers who have largely shared similar experiences to my own with the virus. It was comforting to hear that our response isn’t common just to our community, but to those across the world. With the students on our Zoom call, we discussed different ways that we have been passing our time in quarantine — from Netflix shows we were watching to how physical education classes are manifesting virtually, to the benefits of online school starting later in the morning. This time is universally challenging and it brought me great relief and hope to know that this crisis is one we are all facing and that we will work together to solve it— no matter our location or background. Amidst the seemingly endless obstacles and tragedies this virus has brought are also opportunities for global unity and connection. I only hope that when this crisis comes to a halt, we can emerge a stronger, more unified human species. The success of the calls we had suggest to me that we can." - Dylan Andres '21
"I found the experience of talking with students from Spain very interesting, and it definitely offered a fun distraction from the circumstances we are all living in. It was very cool to ask them questions about what they are doing while stuck in their homes and what they would be doing instead if things were normal. Seeing what questions they wanted to ask us was also very interesting, and I really enjoyed talking to them about things they wanted to know about living in New York and our regular high school lives. This conversation also reinforced the idea that this is truly a global pandemic that is putting people from all different places and cultures in the exact same situation. Connecting with these students allowed me not only to practice my Spanish speaking skills in a real world situation but also to engage in conversations I would otherwise simply not have access to! Gracias." - Gabriella Mayer '20
"Though quarantine is a difficult time for many, the shared experience against a common enemy affecting people universally might be able to bring us together in unexpected ways. In our first digital Spanish class after spring break, Señora Herrera introduced us to Spanish high school students, also taking online classes while at home. We were able to get to know each other, in Spanish of course, not only bettering our conversational skills, but improving our understanding, as High School students, of the lives and experiences of people our age across the Atlantic ocean. The interaction gave us a window to a world of different lifestyles affected by common experiences, and how, as Señora Herrera told us, “Estamos en esto juntos,” or we are in this together. Being able to engage with students from a different country and discuss all the changes to daily life was a fruitful and thought-provoking experience. It taught me that as humanity faces jarring and difficult new realities, we can use this time to care for and learn more about each other, bringing the world closer in the face of a greater, common enemy." - Arya Prasad '23
Story submitted by World Languages Teacher Carmen Herrera
Grades K-3
53 East 91st Street, New York, NY 10128
Grades 4-12
108 East 89th Street, New York, NY 10128
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