Above and Beyond

Grading over 150 Spanish essays can be a little daunting... to say the least. My students know I have many weaknesses, and returning papers in a timely fashion is just one of them. But I figure if I'm going to be spending a good portion of my life grading, I should enjoy it. Well my students make that pretty easy. One, by writing some pretty impressive essays in general. And two, by writing some pretty entertaining things.

Recently my students wrote about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Most essays consisted of phrases like 'You should eat fruits and vegetables', 'I like salad with chicken and fruit salad. It is delicious and healthy for the body', 'Exercise is important', you get the point.

Well one student went above and beyond. The fact that Spanish is his first language may or may not be relevent. Keep in mind this is Spanish 1. Some excerpts:

"Empezamos con comida. Vamos a hablar de las seis categorias de comida..."
(We will begin with food. We are going to talk about the six food categories)

"Carne tiene proteina y es muy importante para tu cuerpo. Ayuda el cuerpo a reparar y construir... Tambien te ayuda con musculo y tener energia."
(Meat has protein and is very important for your body. It helps the body repair and construct... It also helps with muscle and to have energy.)

And the best part...

"Pan tiene fibra, y fibra te ayuda a ir al bano, para ayudar a los intestinos a empujar la basura del cuerpo para fuera."
(Bread has fiber, and fiber helps you go to the bathroom, in order to help the intestines push the body waste out of the body)

He went on to talk about the benefits of calcium in dairy products, the importance of healthy fats... this kids knows what he's talking about with health. Until I got to his argument for why a hamburger is the perfect food. I don't know if I agree with this one:

"La hamburguesa... tiene carne, granos en el pan, lecherias en el queso, verduras con la lechuga, frutas con el tomate, y se cocina con grasas."
(Hamburgers... have meat, grains in the bread, dairy in the cheese, vegetables with the lettuce, fruit with the tomato, and it is cooked with fat.)

Needless to say this essay received a very high grade. Thank you for making my job fun:)