Greetings!
Thank you for visiting my blog about a subject that I am passionate about, helping kids acquire Spanish. I am a teacher at Holdrege High School in Holdrege, NE. I have not been a teacher that long, but I have been burdened with writing some of my thoughts down and thinking reflectively about how to be a better teacher.
It is called TPRS Thoughts because most of the content is about the new things I have learned about TPRS, a revolutionary method for teaching Spanish. You will be able to see my thoughts evolve and change as I have more experiences, but there will always be the focus of helping kids to acquire Spanish.
Leave any comments or questions that you have and thanks for stopping by!
Thomas Young
6 Comments
March 25, 2009 at 2:17 am
Great to read your insights about TPRS. I run a TPRS school in Japan one hour south of Tokyo. I have gotten a lot of help from Ben Slavic since I started on the TPRS path. My situation is teaching English to Japanese students so I have to have a Japanses helper (my wife) to explain the system to our students. I also have a blog spelled ‘brog’ in Japanese English on my website but I don’t add much data to it because 98% percent of my students wouldn’t understand it. My wife adds Japanese comments often. There is more to learn everyday, but just doing it(facing the fear) is the best way to overcome the learning curve problems with TPRS. We are all on an exciting journey, be it back in the states or in the land of the rising sun.
Vernon Lee Kanagawa prefecture Japan
March 27, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Hi Vernon! Thanks for the comments. Ben has been vital to my path in TPRS, too. I sometimes wonder how many people he has helped on an individual basis. We would probably be surprised to know the number.
September 1, 2009 at 12:47 am
Dear Thomas,
I am thrilled to have stumbled onto your blog. I am a second year teacher using TPRS. The success that I found last year, while I felt I was doing everything wrong, has paid off. The retention that my students have shown over the summer has really surprised me. I am looking forward to reading your blog, learning from each other and supporting our method.
Lee A. Salkowitz, Santa Ana, CA
September 1, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Dear Lee Ann,
Thanks so much for the comment. That is great that your students had such great retention! I have to remind myself of those successes to keep me going on the days that I struggle. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thomas
September 17, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Thomas,
I just found your wonderful blog and added it to my RSS feed. I am a third year teacher of the “one woman show” Spanish department in a rural school in Arkansas. It’s good to read of your struggles and ideas. Keep the faith!
Becky
September 18, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Tell me about your school. What is it like?