So, we were on the rug; we had just finished calendar time, and I said, "I have a great little story for you today." The title of the book was "Yo creo que puedo" (I think I can). No, it was not The Little Train that Could! It's actually much less dramatic than The Little Train that Could, but very appropriate for the day. That day, Wednesday, January 9, 2013, our first graders were preparing to walk across a small footbridge in our gym, declaring their commitment to use only Spanish from now on! Until this day we SI teachers have always spoken Spanish with the students, helped them learn new vocabulary in Spanish, but allowed them to speak English to their friends. Now the bar was being raised. They're nervous. Some students think they'll never speak at school again because they don't know enough Spanish to communicate! I know, because I've been doing this for a long time.
But to get back to the book, I read aloud each scenario of when a child declared, "I think I can ......" (ride a bike, make a basehit, play a new song on the piano, etc.). At the end of the book the students were invited to add something that they think they can do this year. I heard a lot of good answers, but one little girl thrilled me to no end when she said, "I think I can speak Spanish!" I let out a big shrill, "¡YUUUUUPPPIIIIIIIII!" The kids looked at me in shock, then started laughing and saying "Sra. Dalman, you're funny!" I know I am pretty funny, but I was so excited that I didn't have to plant this idea on the class. At least one of my students was moved to declare, "I think I can speak Spanish!" And I wholeheartedly concur, or else I wouldn't be teaching in a Spanish Immersion school!
That afternoon the students walked proudly across that bridge, receiving their "Yo hablo español" t-shirt as they arrived on the other side, much as they will receive their diploma when they graduate from High School. As the students & parents wandered off to enjoy the cookies & juice reception, I spoke with the mother of the student who made her "I think I can speak Spanish" declaration. She was surprised, because she said that lately her daughter had been doubting her academic abilities. What a wonderful turnaround! What a great motto to have hanging in our classrooms, or our homes! "I think I can... "
Parents and Teachers, maybe we all need to put up our own "I think I can" poster as well. Mine might read something like, "I think I can. . . laugh more with my students", or "I think I can . . . give more words of encouragement to my colleagues", "I think I can do more to help the newer Immersion schools in West Michigan." What might your's be?
Go ahead, step across "el puente!"
~Sheryl René
