Obviously I haven't been blogging much for a while. I'm not exactly sure about the reason. It's not that I've been too swamped or anything. I mean, I've been quite busy, but that's not it. I guess I've just not felt like I've had anything profound to say recently.
A few things of note have happened recently. For one thing, I've started taking Spanish 1 at the local L.A. Valley Community College. To some this may seem trite or silly, but I've really missed studying language. Back in High School it was one of the greatest passions of mine (French) and during and after college I just didn't get a chance to do it anymore.
So on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:35 I walk out my front door, and by 8 I've made it to campus. It's interesting: it takes almost 10 minutes to get there by car but I can walk it in 25. I'm grateful for the little exercise.
It's funny attending a community college after having completed a master's degree. At least a community college has a large enough mix of us "non-traditional-age students" so I don't feel out of place. The class size is huge (40) and a bit unwieldy. It's got to be impossible for a teacher to do an effective job in a class that size, especially a foreign language where ultimately you want a lot of class participation. It's okay with me, though. I know how to focus my at-home studying. (I actually read the book! I'm making a point of knowing the material cold before la maestra—the teacher—presents it.
I just need the class to direct my studying and to provide an environment where I can hear a lot of Spanish. That's something that you just don't get from reading a book. But I feel sorry for the other students, the ones who don't know how to get the most out of a class like this. For an eighteen year old this has got to be frustrating.
Posted by Murray Todd Williams at February 21, 2005 12:32 PM