Recently, New York City has been trying to enact a ban on the sale of soda, that would reach from delis, to cinemas, to fast-food restaurants.  For this course we had to read an article about this soda ban, in which the sited reason for the ban is obesity.   

Okay, so soda... Technology...? How in a class about technology can you relate these two seemingly unrelated topics?  Well, I can foresee two possibilities in a future class.

First.  As a teacher you can relate the ban of soda to the ban of technology in a classroom.  Across the country, phones, laptops, iPads, and so on, are prohibited from being in a classroom - with the argument from administration that the students will focus better on the material at hand (and perhaps that there won't be any desire to contact the outside world while in class...).  But!  If you're like me, you see that there is a benefit to having an iPhone or iPad in class, because the students could be using apps like flashcards or maybe a virtual tour of that weeks Spanish speaking city on a guide book.  And the article presents soda as the sole contributor to obesity (um, no), there are many other factors, just as there are in a student's level of focus.  They could be thinking of that cute boy who said hey to them in the hallway, or the fact that they didn't have breakfast.  So in a future classroom, I think that as a teacher, you could relate the topic of banning something like technology, may not be as beneficial to a classroom environment as the administration might think it is.

Second.  It's actually difficult to find a solid application of this a Spanish class, but here goes.  You could relate the ban of soda to the ban of, let's say, illegal substances in Central America currently.  In an application to technology (as that is the topic of the course) you could have the students research on the internet ways in which bans are working, or more likely, not working in countries like Mexico or Guatemala.  This way, they can build an argument saying why banning soda is a good or bad idea, and they will be learning about current events in the countries that they are studying.  

Everything I learned, I learned from the movies. - Audrey Hepburn

And that's it!  I'm going to try to finish each blog post with either an Audrey Hepburn quote (she's my favorite actress) or an applicable Spanish saying.  Today's, you will note, that I am placing great value on movies.  I mentioned in the last post that I find music very beneficial to learning a second language, and the same can be said for movies, as you learn about a culture in addition to learning the language.