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News & Photos
Students Make Global Connection via Skype
Thanks to the technology of Skype, Middle School French teacher Lynn Offutt transported her seventh grade French students to a balcony overlooking the tile rooftops of the Italian town of Bologna for a conversation with their former French teacher Tristram Thomas ’05. Monsieur Thomas is currently enrolled in a graduate program through Johns Hopkins University, which took him to Italy for his first year of study.
Students took turns asking Thomas questions (in French, of course) on a variety of topics from the food (Italian pasta is better) and sports (football, what we call soccer, is the most popular) to the weather (beautiful) and what he does for fun (travel, but no TV).
Thomas engaged with his former students and asked them about life at McDonogh as seventh graders. He demonstrated his new proficiency in Italian, and like any good teacher, he took every opportunity to impart lessons on subjects such as the value of thinking vs. memorizing. He reminded them that little things that may seem insignificant in Middle School may actually have an impact on their later lives.
Finally, Monsieur Thomas, emphasized the importance of conversation in forming relationships. “The Italians love to talk,” he said. “When you speak with them, you are immediately friends.”
As the students said “au revoir” and “ciao,” there was a sense of satisfaction in being able to converse with their former teacher in both English and French and realizing that the Skype conversation could impact their lives beyond the classroom and McDonogh.
Thanks to the technology of Skype, Middle School French teacher Lynn Offutt transported her seventh grade French students to a balcony overlooking the tile rooftops of the Italian town of Bologna for a conversation with their former French teacher Tristram Thomas ’05. Monsieur Thomas is currently enrolled in a graduate program through Johns Hopkins University, which took him to Italy for his first year of study.
Students took turns asking Thomas questions (in French, of course) on a variety of topics from the food (Italian pasta is better) and sports (football, what we call soccer, is the most popular) to the weather (beautiful) and what he does for fun (travel, but no TV).
Thomas engaged with his former students and asked them about life at McDonogh as seventh graders. He demonstrated his new proficiency in Italian, and like any good teacher, he took every opportunity to impart lessons on subjects such as the value of thinking vs. memorizing. He reminded them that little things that may seem insignificant in Middle School may actually have an impact on their later lives.
Finally, Monsieur Thomas, emphasized the importance of conversation in forming relationships. “The Italians love to talk,” he said. “When you speak with them, you are immediately friends.”
As the students said “au revoir” and “ciao,” there was a sense of satisfaction in being able to converse with their former teacher in both English and French and realizing that the Skype conversation could impact their lives beyond the classroom and McDonogh.