What About The Monkeys?

I teach writing classes. Almost exclusively. And I truly enjoy it. Getting the children to express their thoughts, their feelings, their ideas in another language. In one of my more advanced classes, I was trying to get across the idea of writing “with your senses.” Describing the sights, the smells, the sounds, the taste, the feels, of an experience. The assignment was to imagine you were one of the original Spanish explorers to North America. Upon your return to Spain, you had to explain “corn” to the queen. We talked about what corn tastes like, what it looks like, what it smells like. As the students were busily scribbling away, one of the students suddenly looked at me. “Miss Lori?” Yes? “What about the monkeys?” Excuse me? “What about the monkeys?” I don’t understand. “The monkeys. What about them?” What do you mean? “Well, we can’t forget the monkeys.” I thought for a moment. I had no idea where this train of thought was coming from. You’re right. We can’t forget the monkeys. Why don’t you write about them as well. He smiled, nodded, and continued.