View Content #21839

At the end of next month, children in the United States and elsewhere will be wearing their Halloween costumes, and Spanish teachers will be wrestling with presenting Day of the Dead customs in Mexico. Recently on the FLTEACH listserv, a first-year teacher asked colleagues what they thought about an ofrendas project and having students prepare and eat pan de los muertos. The resulting discussion, about teaching culture, protecting students who have suffered a loss, cultural appropriation, and focus on one aspect of Mexican culture when traditions vary across the Spanish-speaking world, is fascinating and helpful for any Spanish teacher at this time of year.

Start with the original thread here: https://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=FLTEACH;14d5b7fb.1609
Then click on “Next” by “By Topic” to see listserv users’ replies.

The thread continued under another subject line; you can continue to read responses here: https://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=FLTEACH;d8e25406.1609
Bill Heller contributed an excellent, reflective, insightful response: https://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=FLTEACH;14f02343.1609

Here are a few more resources about Day of the Dead:
https://www.inside-mexico.com/common-misconceptions-about-the-day-of-the-dead-celebration/
http://personal.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/ofrendas/index.html