2010 Catholic Schools Week Supplement

Zany experiment with snails adds fun and creativity to class

Clark Superior Court Judge Jerome Jacobi swears in Candace Popp, a sophomore at Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School in Clarksville, during a ceremony for students to adopt a snail in teacher Katie Aebersold’s French class. Holding the Bible is Providence science teacher Ginger Shirley. (Submitted photo)

Criterion staff report

The unusual oath was one of the special touches that Katie Aebersold used in her zany experiment to add fun and real-life communication skills to the French classes she teaches at Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School in Clarksville.

With her left hand on a French translation of the Bible and her right hand raised, junior Catherine Aubrey became the first student to take the oath—to adopt a snail:

“I, Catherine, swear to take full responsibility for the escargot named Raoul, to provide him with safe housing, adequate clothing and educational opportunities. … I also swear to never spill salt or eat shrimp, lobster or crab in the presence of my escargot. So help me God.”

Before the ceremony ended on Nov. 30, 11 French students became proud adoptive parents of their very own snail. Since then, the snails have helped the students communicate better in French.

“I was looking for something that would help them communicate real-life situations in the French language,” Aebersold said.

As adoptive parents, the students had to introduce their snails to teachers and staff members around the school in French. They have also used the French language to write about experiences they have created for the snails.

“Before this, they wrote about themselves and that’s hard,” Aebersold said. “This has made them more creative with the language and more comfortable with it. They’re making houses for the snails, and they’ll have to take them on spring break with them. They’ll have to send me a postcard from wherever they are.”

A first-year teacher at Providence, the 24-year-old Aebersold discovered the snails at www.adoptanescargot.com while searching online for teaching resources.

She introduced the concept to students during National French Week when she gave them a baby keepsake box. Students had to guess what was inside the boxes before they opened them. Looking inside, the students found a snail shell that came with a personality profile. Students were matched with a snail profile that had some of their same interests and even fears.

“Laughter filled my room,” Aebersold recalled. “The students had to pick a name for their snail and then introduce their snail to the class.”

Students have enjoyed the project.

“It was nothing like I had ever done before,” Kristin Simms said. “I will always remember this experience.”

Classmate Candace Popp noted, “It’s an interesting experience. It helps me to learn how to use the French language in everyday life.”

For Aebersold, the unusual project is just one more memorable moment as a teacher.

“It’s been terrific,” she said about her first year of teaching at Providence. “It’s a testimony to the wonderful atmosphere at Providence. It’s a dream job at a dream school.” †