There's a rabbit in the moon!

Two years ago, I was handed the Non-AP senior Spanish class. It had been a long while since I had taught "big kids," so I was a little weary. The upside was my Administrators gave me free range! The course is called Spanish Conversation and Culture for the Non-AP track. I decided I wanted to teach the big pieces that don't fit in the middle school curriculum. By big pieces, I mean those that I feel seniors should know about before graduating and heading off to college. We study Hispanic culture & history through literature pieces like myths, legends, creation stories, politics and a few films.
I love teaching Creation stories - or stories of origin - as they can tell us so much about any given society. Perhaps if we all were required to read excerpts from books like the Bible, the Q'ran, or the Torah, we would have a better understanding of how others think and believe. Perhaps this would create a mutual understanding or even better - a mutual respect!
Right now my senior students are reading the Popol Vuh - the Mayan book of origin - creation of the world and man. By reading this ancient text, they have learned why corn was deemed so important to their people and why respecting your elders is a cornerstone to familial life. We also read a little legend called "El sol y la luna" (The Sun & the Moon). It tells the story of how light was created by sacrificing two gods. These gods became the sun and the moon we know today. However, as the two balls of light arose in the sky equally bright, the other gods decided one should be dimmer than the other. To dim one light, a god grabbed a rabbit and hurled it at the moon, smacking it with the rabbit. For this reason, the moon is not as bright as the sun and to this day you can see the imprint of the rabbit in the moon.
I first heard this story in 1997 when I stayed with a family that lived in Guadalajara, Mexico. For them, it was common knowledge that you can see a rabbit in the moon. I looked up and in fact, I could see it. Living in the United States of course it had never been brought to my attention, but there it was plain as day - or night, rather! This got me thinking when people argue over the sky being blue or the grass being green - infer religion or politics, etc. here - a lot of our heated debates or complete miscommunications obviously stem from not understanding the other. If we took the time to dig in and really learn a little history about those we have conflicts with, maybe it could begin a path of peaceful coexistence. A respectful agreement to disagree, but behind it an understanding of why you see a man in the moon and I see a rabbit.



photo credit: mexicolore.co.uk