It’s one thing to teach a subject, but it’s another to experience it. Mohsen Ghodsi, who currently teaches two Spanish courses as well as the freshman gifted class, has learned from experience. He was born in Iran, and moved to Houston after spending his teenage years in Seattle. While in Texas, he became enamored with the Spanish language and culture in an unexpected way.
Ghodsi first encountered Spanish at age 16 when he read a Farsi translation of Cien Años de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude) by Gabriel García Márquez. He admits that much of the metaphorical meaning was lost in translation, for the version he read, “was probably translated from Spanish, to English and then to Farsi,” his native language. He was not deterred by the language barrier, and enrolled in his first official Spanish class at Rice University upon moving to Houston.
If you ask Ghodsi about the city of Houston, he will passionately tell you that it is incredibly unique because of its diversity. The population is almost equally divided between whites, African Americans and Mexican Americans. After researching the city, Ghodsi decided to move to the East End, where 93% of the residents speak Spanish as their first language and, “speaking only English is a handicap.” This was the perfect atmosphere for Ghodsi to conquer the Spanish language and all its intricacies.
In addition to quickly becoming fluent (in his third language), Ghodsi also picked up the vernacular. He fondly recalls, “After three years living there I could pass for a native speaker.” Most of his friends, and most of the population as well, were poor immigrants who worked undesirable jobs.
“This was not the most educated and affluent segment of Mexican society. Most of the inhabitants had recently crossed the border to work in service and construction jobs,” said Ghodsi.
Despite living below the poverty level without materialistic pleasures, they always kept a positive attitude. Ghodsi’s friends in the East End “had a great sense of fun, and it was really fun to be around them.” He admired the optimistic and grateful attitude fostered in the Latino culture, and decided to pursue Spanish as a career. He majored in Spanish Literature, and eventually found himself at LM.
Ghodsi holds profound respect for what he teaches, and is very passionate about his job. Seniors may recall the field trip that he took three years ago with his 9th grade gifted class. To complement their studies on the theory of evolution, the class spent two weeks in the Galapagos Islands, seeing firsthand, “what Darwin saw,” and the evidence that catalyzed his great revelation. “It was a really fantastic group of kids,” Ghodsi says and proceeds to summarize the experience in one word: “unique.”
When asked about his favorite online diversion, Ghodsi said, “I don’t waste too much time online.” However, he finds time to check up on cycling news, another passion. An avid cyclist, Ghodsi’s average routine consists of “200 miles per week” on his bicycle. For perspective, two hundred miles is twice the distance between Ardmore and New York City.
Mr. Ghodsi knows that in order to understand something, you need to experience it and not just learn it. He notes that “Language is separated from the culture,” in many language classes, and he, “would really recommend learning a foreign language in a cultural context.” It is this cultural awareness and knowledge that he brings to the classroom every day, and imparts to his students.
Stephen Kent
Class of 2010
