Teacher on Two Wheels

Videos will be posted to this page as I ride and grouped based on project or theme.

**Click on the name of the project to view all project videos**

Students Who Work–I’m working with Ms. Lord-Morgan from Cherokee High School in New Jersey on a video project that focuses on students who work. Students who work in different countries around the world will answer the same 10 questions about their jobs. The questions are:

1. How much money do you make per hour?
2. How many hours a week do you work?
3. What do you usually buy with the money you get from working?
4. What is the most interesting part of your job?
5. Does your job make studying difficult?
6. Do many of your friends also work? If so, what percent of your friends work?
7. Is there an opportunity to advance in your job?
8. In (your country), what types of things could you buy with $25?
9. Can you afford to own a car thanks to your job?
10. What type of job do you think you will have in five years?

Sample video: Natalia talks about her job at a call center in Costa Rica

Spanish/English Videos–I’m working with Ms. Peterson, a Spanish teacher from Birchwood High School in Wisconsin, on a video project in which students will make videos in their non-native languages. My students in Spanish-speaking countries will practice their English by making videos in English that describe local foods, traditions, and sports. Students in Ms. Peterson’s Spanish classes will make similar videos in Spanish about their home country, the U.S., and their lives.

Sample video: Three students from Kamuk School in Costa Rica present a commercial for a fictional Costa Rican fruit company, Del-Rican Fruits (Del-Rican = combination of the words ‘Delicious’ and ‘Costa Rican’)

Cultural Traditions–I’m working with Mr. Maniscalco from Bradford Elementary School in New Jersey on a video project about cultural traditions. Videos posted here will show different cultural traditions I encounter along my route. From street festivals to birthdays, events captured in the videos for this project will represent the cultures that created them. Mr. Maniscalco is also showing his students pictures and text posts from the Teacher on Two Wheels website to generate in-class discussion about cultures from around the world. Occasionally, videos that relate to elementary school students will also be posted here.

Sample video: Birthday celebration in Heredia, Costa Rica. Just like in the states, Costa Ricans often celebrate birthdays by having a family party, eating cake, blowing out birthday candles, and singing “Happy Birthday” (in Spanish of course!)

Race in Literature–I’m working with Ms. Baran from West Orange High School in New Jersey on a project about race. I asked the same nine race-related questions to different people in the southern states of the U.S. Each question addresses a certain issue that will be raised in her American Literature class this year. The nine questions:

1. How do you feel about use of the N-word? How often do you hear it? How is it used?
2. Do you have any non-white friends?
3. How do you feel about interracial couples? Do you often see interracial couples?
4. What types of racism do you witness in your daily life?
5. How have people of other races affected the area in which you live?
6. What is your opinion on the immigration issue in the United States?
7. Do you and your family have any personal connection to slavery?
8. What, if any, are some of the prejudices southerners have about northerners?
9. Do you think it’s possible to still feel the effects of slavery in your area?

**Note: If you live in the U.S. and would like to post a video response to the videos I posted, a response in which you answer the nine questions above, please feel free to do so! I know that I was only able to capture a limited perspective on race during my ride through the U.S. Please help students gain a broader perspective of this complex issue by posting a video response of your own. Thank you in advance!**

Sample Video: Perry in Houma, Louisiana

Another sample video: Mike in Woodlands, Texas

After we shot his interview, Mike emailed me the following text to add on to his answers given on film. I thought his comments were interesting and got his permission to publish them here.

“The N-word: I think it’s very important to realize how the use of nigga/nigger has changed and is changing. The most frequent place I hear the N-word is in music and movies and other entertainment media. Tupac says that “nigga stands for never ignorant; gettin goals accomplished”. Other groups like A Tribe Called Quest have tunes that explore how the youth have changed the word to a term of endearment. I’ve been fishing with guys before who have told me, “You can’t eat catfish. That’s a niggerfish.” Obviously those older white men are racist and prejudiced. But when a younger person says to his friend “Sup nigga?” the connotation is completely different. I think among younger people of various races ‘nigga’ is becoming a term of endearment akin to ‘brotha’. The word can imply two people are united or at least on the same page in terms of what is important and worth fighting for in this world.

Immigration: It’s important to acknowledge history. The people who say that all the illegals should be sent back because they broke the law are incredibly ignorant of this country’s history. As I said, we are a nation of immigrants. We are immigrants who elected representative governments who summarily made and broke every treaty ever signed with the Native American–the original inhabitant of this land. So to say that people coming across the border broke the law and should be sent back is akin to evicting everyone from the Black Hills in South Dakota and giving it back to the Lakota people. When gold was “discovered” in those hills prospectors and miners and ranchers and everyone else ignored the Treaty of 1848 and invaded Native American land. And the story repeats itself throughout Native American history….”

Random Trip Videos–To see the videos I’ve posted to YouTube (ie. my most current videos), click on the Random Trip Videos link above. To see older videos posted on Google Video, click here and check out the videos on the right hand side of the screen under the heading More From User. Enjoy!

Sample video: African dance class at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana