Saturday May 21st was the culmination of our workshop; in order to celebrate we had a graduation party, but not before we squeezed in one last grammar lesson. Since last week we closed our class by introducing the Past Simple Tense, it was only appropriate to leave our students with a more in depth explication of this essential tense in the English language.
Thereafter, the students were presented with a PowerPoint Collage of pictures from our weeks together, it was a very sweet moment which led us into presenting the students with diplomas that certified their completion and participation in our ESOL through Art workshop.
Then our party began! We had tons of food—provided by our students and staff—to share and enjoy with each other. Our classroom was full of laughs and appetizing smells! We reminisced of the things we learned and the moments we lived as a class. Some students said The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass was their favorite exhibit to learn about, while others said William Gropper’s art truly called their attention because of its political nature and one student said Duke Reily’s That’s What She Said drawing helped her better understand New York—Canada relations to water and electricity. Finally, the students expressed their gratitude towards the Queens Museum for providing such an eclectic course, a unique way to learn English—which has left them with the desire to continue learning English through art, so we agreed this was not a ‘goodbye’ but a ‘see you later’……….Jennifer Cruz Marulanda
