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For The Last Time, We Are NOT Making Piñatas!

4/24/2014

5 Comments

 
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My first year of teaching was a rough one for so many reasons.  This was one of them...

The school that I taught in at the time had a curriculum that each teacher needed to follow to the letter.  One of the requirements of all Spanish I teachers was to assign to students a take home piñata project.  The students were to make a piñata of a "culturally significant" item and return it to school to be displayed and graded.  I did as I was expected and assigned the project, despite the fact that I failed to see the educational merit. 

A week later, the day arrived when the piñatas were due.  Since they were too large to fit in lockers, a large pile of piñatas had begun to grow in the corner of my classroom.  I watched as the children brought them in, proudly showing me their sombreros, donkeys, guitars, etc.  One piñata seemed to be drawing a great deal of attention.  Students I didn't even know were coming into the room to see it - this is great, I thought.  Maybe this project will get some more kids interested in Spanish!

I had 1st period off that year, so I took the opportunity to start perusing the substantial pile.  It was at that point that one piñata in particular caught my eye.  I looked at it, and looked at it again.  No, it couldn't be.  No one would do that.  I must be mistaken.  Perhaps it is Gonzo from the Muppets?  A rocket ship?

I decided to set my suspicions aside and go right to the source.  Kurt arrived to class later that day.  I had removed his piñata from the pile and placed it behind my desk, out of the view of the other kids.  You see, as the day wore on, droves of children from every grade began coming to me room to see this piñata.  I had to keep it's popularity to a minimum until I figured out what to do.

Me:  Kurt, would you like to tell me what your piñata is?
Kurt:  I think you know what it is.
Me:  I would like you to tell me what you intended it to be.
Kurt:  It's a penis, and you're holding it wrong.
Me:  Thank you Kurt, we will speak more later.

I put the piñata in a garbage bag and brought it down to the assistant principal.  He told me I would have to call Kurt's mom.  The first parent phone call I ever made and I had to figure out how to broach THIS subject.  I called mom and she was well aware of the piñata.  She even told me that she had helped him make it and that the term "culturally appropriate" could certainly include this subject matter. 

The administration forced me to give Kurt 100% on the project.  We broke the piñata open at the end of the year teacher party.  I found another teaching job that summer in the district where I still teach today.  When I think back to that year, I am surprised I didn't become just another statistic in the attrition rate. I have never allowed students to make piñatas again.  When they ask me why, I just tell them that I had a traumatic experience with one.

5 Comments
Emily link
8/2/2014 08:17:16 pm

Why did the administration want you to accept the piñata and give it 100%? I know all males in every culture have penises, but culturally appropriate? Come on!

I had a similar situation in a Spanish 4 class where students had to act out a scene from Don Quijote. One of the boys used a Playboy centerfold as a picture of Dulcinea del Toboso. I reported it to the administration who suspended the boy for two days, but he could make up the credit and redo the project. The boy chose not to.

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Throw Away Your Textbook!
8/3/2014 05:34:16 am

Apparently the kids mother was a big wig in the community and I think they just wanted to shut her up. Later that year the same kid got in a fight and when they called this same mom to pick him up, the kid assaulted HER! At any rate, the administration not standing behind it's teachers was one of the reasons I left that district after only one year.

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Anton
3/2/2015 05:37:25 pm

Your unfortunate experience is all too common. Most administrators today are ineffective educators who were lackluster in the classroom and they know it. Rather than become a Fuller Brush salesman, they give up and go into administration since it is better money.
Peter Principle. With the money spent on 4 plus administrators per school for salary and benefits, you could give step increases every year for teachers. It's almost criminal.

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Caryn
9/29/2016 02:31:37 pm

[Crying laughing] Just think, this is the struggle of art teachers with EVERY PROJECT! In exchange for the surviving the trauma, you now have this priceless story :)

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Holly of Throw Away Your Textbook
9/29/2016 03:14:33 pm

In retrospect, having the story to tell year after year has made it well worth the momentary trauma, plus I have a great excuse when my kids ask if we can make piñatas.

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