Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 2005)
' U tu Y £ January 26’2005 ^^LACKAMASp^fif «J ove for language fuels instructor I Wilson •:ckamas Print , l’t realize I, was in love with j’ said Clackamas French Heidi Cropsey, “until I (Conversational French night ; World War II, Cropsey’s engineer, worked with the distance, going ahead of the I American poops to gath- l supplies. Since many of nee workers were actually [nd many of these women ten, her father learned count- h nursery songs and thymes ftual French This is how [was first introduced to the f h bom in Oregon, Cropsey rral years in Peru—as well other places—as a child father’s work brought him nily to that country. I had to learn Spanish so d talk with mylittle friends,” (¡ey. “Every teacher has their n experience’ [with a lan- had [learned] it so young isciously that I wasn’t at all ■began as a night class at bmmumtvECollege eventu- ' ie an opportunity to teach at sis. i(CC] I found out I not only ¡ach, but I loved the immer- am ... it has so much life lion,” Cropsey said umersion method of leam- Trüman Anderson Clackamas Print French instructor Heidi Cropsey (bottom right) wbrks closely with her French students (from left) David Ramirez and Kate Wagner, with the assistance of French tutor Susan Witherspoon. ing language is that students, upon entering die classroom, hear only the language they are learning; barely any English is spoken during class hours. Clackamas has an immersion program for its French classes called ‘Trench in Action.” ‘“French in Action’ was exact ly the way I wanted to teach,” said Cropsey. “Immersion is real ly important in language ... it’s very interactive, and the more interactive it can be the better.” “Madame Cropsey”—as her stu dents call her—has devoted a lot of effort to expanding the French pro gram. In 1998 she and her class started the French Club. “It was founded by a very enthusi astic group,” said Cropsey, laughing. “And now we have a lot of support on campus.” She tries to have a French table set up as often as possible with a native speaker interacting with students in French There is also International Day at the college. The celebration includes cultural presentations, arts and crafts and ethnic foods from different countries. The French, German and Spanish students are active partici pants in this celebration. “I love to give students the chance to perform and show off French cul ture in a nice way,” Cropsey said. Thanks to Cropsey’s guidance and some serious fundraising by the French club, two French students were able to visit France and Switzerland in the fell of2003. Cropsey would like to see this become a regular occurrence. “We want to start a little exchange program,” she said. “I’d love to give students the chance to go [to France].” Cropsey has helped set up a small emergency fund for needy French stu dents and is even hoping to establish a full-blown scholarship sometime in the future. About lhe French program she said, “It’s funny because it’s such a steady program, but it’s never boring. Every single year the class seems entirely new and fresh to me. Each group has its own different needs and interests ... Education is so fascinat ing.” Cropsey is determined to continue pushing her students , to do their very best. “The feet is that people are so cre ative and they don’t realize it some times,” she said. “They don’t realize how much they can create and do ... people should be encouraged [to real ize that], maybe even pushed a little.” plando nuestro idioma: Demos la Bienvenida al Espanol The first of a weekly Spanish-language column a Martinez ckamas Print os la bienvenida al <1en éstajnovena edi- I su periodico escolar ¿mas Print” dando a un articulo en espa- r primera vez en la de este periòdico til, un articulo donde sprender coisas nuevas, emente comentaras lo itmpre habías querido ¡Eque por falta de el idi llica te habías atrevido iar- ' , , articulo está echo para los Hispanos, para los nuestros, para la gente que viene de donde venimos, come lo que comemos y habla como nosotros “Los latinos” y todos aquellos otros que se sienten y viven como tales, “Nuestra ge.” Los Hispanos somos muchos, y cada vez nos esta mos dando a conocer más y más. Expresémos lo que pen- sámos y sigamos luchando contra las barreras del idi oma, porque detrás de esa gran pared esta nuestro éxito, que poco a poco iremos forjando con paciencia y constancia. Cultura, tradiciones, cos tumbres, y gastronomía son algunos de los factores que identifican a nuestra comu nidad Hispana. Sus países los representan, sus trajes típicos y su acento, en todos lados se encuentran, desde el sur de América hasta el norte de Europa, siempre en algún lugar habrá un Hispano, Puertoriqueño, Colombiano, Mexicano, Cubano, o Guatemalteco que con su trabajo, lengua y color de la piel nos pongan muy en alto.' Siempre estarán ahi, cada que se necesite un hombre que dé su vida por el trabajo y por sacar adelante a su familia un Hispano levantara la mano y con su esfuerzo dará su ejem plo. Con cualquier empleo y en cualquier lugar trabajan muy duro y casi sin descansar, pero siempre con la frente en alto luchando por su familia y su bandera, lavando los platos en los que muchos comen, limpi ando las calles por cualquier rincones, haciendo comida, trabajando el campo, construy endo, o enseñando pero siem pre y ante todo el Hispano se hace identificar y se abre paso ante la sociedad. Sientance libres de man dar sus comentarios, aquí a su espacio de información, en donde en cada edición dare mos consejos e informaremos de eventos que están por venir en nuestra comunidad Latina. Y en éste su primer artícu lo en Español el “Clackamas Print” les abre éste espacio que será publicado cada miér coles. Queremos saber lo que opinas y como se sienten a cerca de éste proyecto; com- muniquense con nosotros al 503-657-6958 con la exten- cion 2309 y déjenos saber su opinión. Porque recuerden este será su espacio y nosotros serémos su voz.
