Honors Spanish: Understanding Cultural Differences

Honors Spanish students in Elena Peterson’s class have recently been doing presentations about different cultural aspects of various Spanish speaking countries, such as food, dance and more, and comparing these focus points to an American cultural equivalent.

“Students absolutely thrive with projects where their voice is heard and even more when they enjoy the topic,” says Elena Peterson, Upper School Spanish Teacher. “We are working on cultural comparisons in different communities.”

As one example, two students demonstrated for the class the differences and similarities between square dancing in the US and merengue in Latin America.

Elena’s other goals are twofold. “I am striving to give students a taste of what learning they will be involved in next year in AP class, working with products, practices and perspectives in a variety of Spanish-speaking countries and to transform the world as a global citizen,” add Elena.