Foreign languages open up new opportunities for the students like jobs and college, but one more “off the beaten path” option is the new one Spanish students will have: an all-Spanish poetry slam.
Several students who can “slam the best” will go on a field trip to Palo Alto to slam their poems against students from other schools.
Students either wrote their own original poem or recited a prewritten one. Carlmont students were judged by Carlmont staff like Spanish teacher Michael Vossen and English teacher Addison Lewellen. When the dust settled, only the top few students were selected to go on the field trip to The Girls’ Middle School in Palo Alto on March 7.
“I think its a good chance for students to show off what they’ve learned,” said sophomore Sol Mitnick. “You also get a chance to experiment with a new medium of Spanish. It may not give extra credit or improve grades, but it may turn out to be pretty fun for participants.”
Some students agree that it seems like a fun event for a lot of people, and a new way to explore Spanish.
“I think it is a really cool idea, and an interesting way to look at Spanish literature. The only problem, is that more introverted people would find it hard to read a poem in front of other students and get judged on it. So really it is mainly a good event for more outgoing students,” said sophomore Tanner Anderson.
Vossen is known by his students as”Don Miguel.” He shared his thoughts on the poetry slam: “I was invited to bring some students to the event in Palo Alto. As a Spanish teacher, I mainly focus just on teaching how to speak or write to friends, and everyday people. The poetry slam is a fun new way for students to really get to explore Spanish.”
After the Carlmont qualifiers, junior Deep Joshi, freshman Talia Fine, and freshman Sara Cheung were chosen as the finalists. They will represent Carlmont at the poetry slam.
“Poems really tell a lot about events at the time and show a lot of emotion, so students can also get exposed to some culture,” said Vossen. “I hope many students participate, because I want to really see how far students have come over the course of the first semester.”
