Read an article by the 2005 AATSP Scholarship winner, Sarah Clark, about her experience at Cemanahuac.

 

Overview:

There is a debate at the highest levels across the United States about using only English in the classroom or whether it is appropriate to teach children in their home language. Regardless of how this debate is resolved, a teacher who hopes to reach students in the most positive way possible will want to learn the basics (and even beyond) of the home language of the students. Cemanahuac offers special programming for teachers, which includes basic Spanish classes, additional appropriate vocabulary classes for educators, and professional visits to schools and other types of educational centers in Cuernavaca. We also offer a Latin American studies seminar entitled "Mesoamerica in the Classroom," whereby we take the information about Mexico before the Conquest which has been gained in Spanish language classes and on field trips to present ideas about how this information can be best utilized in the classroom. We are happy to help teachers develop Mexican resource kits to use in their classrooms.

Language teachers are welcome at Cemanahuac, and special seminars are offered for teachers who have been teaching other languages and who are now being asked to teach Spanish language classes. Both the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and many state and regional education associations offer scholarships to language teachers to study at Cemanahuac. Academic credit is available for all teachers who study with Cemanahuac.

Cemanahuac has agreements with any school systems in the United States, including some of the largest school districts in the country, whereby all teachers and administrators from these school systems receive a reduction in fees for registration and tuition. Cemanahuac offers this reduction in support of all educators who are struggling to meet the needs of children and their families who are from a Latino background. Contact Cemanahuac for a list of participating schools.

 

Group Programs for Educators:

I work with many educators who want to return to Cemanahuac and bring a group of teachers or students with them. I would be delighted to work with you if you are interested in organizing a group of teachers from your school system or professional education association, and I will help you develop a fee structure that will make your own study program very low in cost.

I will work with you to plan special activities to be included in the total educational program, in addition to our basic 20--24 hours of Spanish language class each week. Fees for the group provide a discount in tuition of 25% to the participants and to often cover the costs (including housing, tuition, and even airfare) for the coordinator, in exchange for all the work and organization involved in such an endeavor.

Each group is treated separately; no two programs need be the same. All study programs of two weeks or more can be considered appropriate for academic credit, graduate or undergraduate. Send me an email message if you'd like to consider this, and I can send you more information.

 

Special Summer Workshop:

Each summer Cemanahuac offers stimulating seminars for educators, on a variety of topics of interest to teachers who want to bring the culture of Mexico into their classrooms and improve their Spanish for use with their students and their families. Many seminars are available for graduate academic credit.

Click here to see other Workshops as well as a list of Scholarships.

 

Celebrate the Life and Work of Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera
1888--1957

 

Diego Rivera is considered the father of Mexican mural art and modern political art in Mexico.  Rivera reinterpreted Mexican history from a revolutionary and nationalistic point of view.  Larger than life and classically trained in both Mexico and Europe, Rivera was an important personality in the art world of the  20th century, and his thoughts, opinions, and works were well respected in the art community on both continents.

Rivera was an innovator in expressing his ideals unifying art and politics.  His work adorns some of Mexico City’s most important public buildings, as well as the Cortes Palace in Cuernavaca, and his murals in the United States had a lasting impact on generations of artists after the US depression.

Cemanahuac will observe the fiftieth anniversary of Rivera‘s death by
sponsoring some special lectures on his work and life, extra excursions to the most famous murals in and around Mexico City, including the magnificent murals in the Chapel at the agricultural college in Chapingo and his Anahuacalli museum-studio in San Angel which he built to house his Prehispanic collection of art.

Cemanahuac sponsored a similar educational summer art program in 2004 featuring the work of Frida Kahlo on the fiftieth anniversary of her death; in 2007 we will examine in detail the work of the other half of this famous art couple.

For those who want to prepare and learn the most from viewing the amazing murals of Diego Rivera, some advance reading will be informative and help with understanding the work of the this gifted painter.  Two books which have been highly regarded by critics are:

Marnham, Patrick.  Dreaming with His Eyes Open. A Biography of Diego Rivera (hardcover and paperback editions), 1998.

Wolfe, Bertram. The Fabulous life of Diego Rivera. 1963.

And there is also Rivera’s own “over the top” bibliography:

Rivera, Diego. My Art, My Life: An Autobiography.  1960.

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"Mesoamerica in the Classroom," an Ongoing Course:

The course, "Mesoamerica in the Classroom" is viewed as an independent study and self-paced class whereby a teacher can focus on those elements of the culture that can be included in the classroom activities for a specific group or level. The activities include classes, readings, foods, art, music, and field study excursions. Write to me for a full description of the program.

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