The Hewitt Times

By Marlena Rubenstein, Zoe Stoller, and Rebecca Aydin

On Thursday, October 11th, the 11th graders no think (or speak) americano. The focus for this IDEAL day was the foreign languages, so the grade was split into Spanish and French “speakers” (The few students who take neither joined the group whose language they took most recently).

Marlena:

The Spanish students went on a culturally-rich art history trip with the two classes’ teachers, Señor Gray and Señora Garcia. The class first visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where each of the two sections, Spanish III and Spanish IV, researched specific Hispanic artists and their works to present to the class. After visiting the Met, the class walked up to El Museo del Barrio de Nueva York, an art museum on the border of Spanish Harlem which features Latin American art, especially that form the Caribbean. Here the students took part in a hands-on art project, followed by a guided tour lead primarily in Spanish. The Spanish IDEAL day was all-inclusive, calling upon skills of linguistic, artistic, and physical nature.

Zoe:

On the other hand, French students were accompanied by Madame Toussaint and Madame Albino to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There, we explored the Impressionist exhibits, viewing the work of artists such as Renoir, Degas, and Monet. We were assigned the task of finding a painting or sculpture that spoke to us and then to give a brief presentation about them – in French. I chose Renoir’s 1888 painting, “The Daughters of Catulle Mendès, Huguette (1871–1964), Claudine (1876–1937), and Helyonne (1879–1955),” explaining that the three girls in this painting reminded me of my life with my two sisters. I found this exercise to be very successful; not only did we have a chance to practice our French, but we also had the opportunity to learn more about art.

Becky:

After our trip to the museum, we took a brisk walk to the Beekman Theater to watch the French film “The Intouchables”. Directed by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, this film is based on the real story of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and Abdel Selloua. Adapted for screen, the principal characters become Phillippe, a paralyzed aristocrat, and Driss, the convict caretaker Philippe hires for Driss’s lack of pity in dealing with his disability. Although their socio-economic classes differ greatly (Philippe buys paintings worth thousands of euros and lives in a Paris mansion while Driss lives in a housing project with numerous siblings), the two fall under the same category as outcasts. As a class, we discussed what it means to be an “untouchable” (in French, of course!). We came up with real-world examples of outcasts in the Indian caste system, in which a literal group of “untouchables” has existed, the way which people with physical disabilities are treated, and personal experiences in which we have felt ostracized, whether traveling abroad or right here in our hometown of NYC. After watching the film, our perception of “the outcast” was irrevocably changed in seeing the bond which Philipe and Driss forge; everyone agreed the movie was incredible in terms of its story and direction.

In all, the girls who went on the French and Spanish trips were impressed by the planning and execution of their modern language IDEAL days. The immersion experience which we were able to have, even in the midst of a predominantly English-speaking Manhattan, was quite eye-opening; now aware that modern-language speaking opportunities exist all around us, we all hope to be more inclined to use French and Spanish in our everyday lives outside of Hewitt.