Many of us pursued a career as a Spanish teacher because at some point we became connected to a Spanish speaking culture. Maybe we were born into one, maybe we traveled, maybe we studied abroad, maybe we met a cute guy at a salsa lesson and now we’re married and have a pile of salsa-dancing kids. Whatever the reason–when the countries that we have come to love and that have become part of us are suffering, we suffer with them–even gringas from Upstate NY like me!
Yesterday I shared a pile of resources related to the earthquakes in Mexico. Today, I am sharing a few things about Hurricane María. The devastation in Puerto Rico is unfathomable. Among many more things, the storm completely destroyed the electric infrastructure in the country and it is estimated that many areas will be without power for as long as six months. SIX MONTHS. Can you imagine?
I want to connect my students to this disaster for the purpose of empathy. If my students leave my class and don’t care any more for their fellow humans than they did when they first walked through the door, then what the heck am I doing. And maybe, just maybe, that empathy that students feel will inspire them to action. Stories trigger the production of oxytocin in our brains, and oxytocin creates the feeling of empathy. The more compelling a story, the more oxytocin our brains produce. The more oxytocin our brains produce, the more empathy we feel, and the stronger a call to action we feel. If we want our students to do something, we should tell them a compelling story.
Perhaps you, like me, have friends and colleagues that waited days to hear from family members in Puerto Rico. Maybe you were one of the ones waiting. Maybe you are still waiting. When I think about how I want to approach this disaster with my (imaginary) students, I think about that waiting.
Enid López Reed is a Spanish teacher that I have gotten to know virtually over the last few years, and she reached out to me to share a small piece of her experience. She spoke to her parents the night of September 19 as her parents anticipated the arrival of Hurricane María. She then waited four days to hear anything from them. She sent me the voicemail that her mom left her on the morning of September 24 saying that they are okay.

I wrote a quick article about María and then put together a slideshow loosely based on Maestra Reed’s experience. You can download them here. Please use these materials to connect your students to what is happening in Puerto Rico right now and what will be happening in the coming months.
I recommend:
- Read the article with your students. Just read it and talk about it as you do, don’t assign a task.
- Read the story slideshow.
- Show them these pictures of the devastation and talk about what they see in Spanish (you could use these pictures too).
- Talk about what they might want to do to help.
Kara Jacobs has put together much more extensive resources that you can access on her blog, here.
Please encourage students to reach out to puertorriqueños in your school and in your community. This is a difficult time to live so far from family and friends, even for those that have been able to contact their families. Encourage your students to let their classmates, community members, and fellow countrymen know that they are seen! We understand why they’re preoccupied, tired, and perhaps even on edge in these days. Please encourage any students that express a desire to help to do so! Puerto Rico’s first lady, Beatriz Rosselló, has an initiative called #UnidosPorPuertoRico. It is very easy for individuals or organizations to donate to the initiative online via PayPal or to bank account transfer.

I am donating all proceeds from my Hurricanes mini-unit this month to Hurricane María relief efforts. Beyond that, I am not sure yet what I will be doing. But I can do something, and you can too.
Much love,
Martina
https://www.facebook.com/DVICIOoficial/videos/1475681172522924/
Hola Martina, Soy maestra de español y soy de Puerto Rico, no sabes cuánto agradezco lo que estás haciendo para ayudarnos. Esta semana cambiamos todos las lecciones ya planificadas en nuestro departamento para educar a nuestros estudiantes sobre la crisis humanitaria en PR y en Mexico. Somos una escuela dedicada a las misiones y servir al prójimo. Mi gente en Puerto Rico sufre…mi familia está bien entre las circunstancias y hemos podido ayudarlos. Gracias a Dios. La situación es seria y hay mucho trabajo que hacer. Gracias. Dios te Bendiga. Gisele Conn Espero te guste la canción, la usaré hoy en mi clase.
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Just showing the students the news in CNN/BBC/ Spanish or El Pais (Spain) they can read and see the devastation. Using the verb “tener” is easy to say what they have and don’t have now, what the famous people from Puerto Rico and Mexico are doing to help ( ayudar), talk about “Frida” the little dog, ayuda Internacional, there are so many things to talk about the situation in these regions. My students have to bring current news from Spanish speaking countries every Friday, and last Friday the one that impacted the students was about the price of tickets from Miami to the rest of the country during the hurricane Irma, and now it’s happening again in Puerto Rico.
I heard Rosie Perez and J Lo on NPR this morning; she speaks in this video too. http://people.com/chica/ricky-martin-jennifer-lopez-celebrities-raise-money-for-puerto-rico-after-hurricane-maria/
I live very close to Shreveport, Louisiana. Many patients from hospitals in Puerto Rico are being transported here. Looking for ideas if anyone can think of anything my classes could do…..
Thank you so much for this! Today my students and I were looking through the photos and they decided that they want to educate the school about it during our Hispanic Heritage Month event. They also plan on collecting donations to support Puerto Rico! It was amazing to see how moved they were and how they sprung into action because of it.
What a wonderful way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage!!!
I LOVE THIS!!! MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS MARTINA! TU ERES LA MEJOR! 🙂
¡Muchas Gracias Martina! I have been working with an article from El Pais which was an interview with the governor of Puerto Rico. This presentation is PERFECTO as my article has been a little challenging for them.
Gracias de Nuevo,
Señora Maurice
We are making it a school wide effort also. A church nearby is collecting items so we have joined forces w/ them and are collecting cases of water. The church is taking them directly there on a chartered airplane. Your resources worked AMAZINGLY well w/ our now schoolwide project. I also added in the video “Preciosa” by Marc Anthony that has beautiful sights of Puerto Rico. Thanks again.
You are such an inspiration! I am dedicating World Languages Day to Puerto Rico making sure all my students know they are also part of the USA and need our help.