I know that this will sound classist, and it is. I was raised by a slightly classist father for whom being a nurse or paralegal was not enough. I had to be a doctor or a lawyer. This is part of the reason that I never considered teaching as a profession. I was raised with the mentality of “those who cannot do teach,” which I have since realized is incredibly hurtful and just plain untrue.
Even after college, I was still holding on to this mentality. Instead of applying to any teaching abroad program that sounded interesting, I only applied to Fulbright because I wanted to be part of the prestigious program. Like my dad, I couldn’t just be a teacher, I had to be a Fulbright Scholar. However, after only a couple weeks of school, I am surprised how much I absolutely love teaching.
Toilet Paper Roll Nativity Scene at My School
Two weeks ago, I started my first week of school at CEIP Villa Patro, which is a small charter-type school. It is relatively new and only serves preschool through 4th grade but is looking to expand up to 6th grade in the next few years. Unfortunately, I only got two weeks with my students before winter break, and most of these weeks were spent playing Christmas games and watching Christmas movies. But I already have a few thoughts on more cultural differences just from these couple of weeks of school. I am sure there will be many more of these sort of posts in the coming months as I become more adjusted to teaching and to Spain in general.
The first difference is that there is no Kindergarten, only three levels of preschool (3-5 years old). The second is that there are no textbooks, which is a controversial move among the teachers. Some do not like how much it requires them to prepare ahead of class, but I suppose it does give more flexibility and customizability to the curriculum. However, this puts a lot of responsibility on the kids to take good notes and bring home all their handouts, and parents have complained about this system before.
Another interesting difference is that they only attend school from 9am—2pm, which compared to my American 8am—4pm education feels like not enough. But I have also heard that Americans work some of the longest hours in the world but are also some of the least productive in those hours. So perhaps, these students are simply doing everything more efficiently, and I will probably have a better idea of this in a few months.
I am not supposed to speak any Spanish with students, and often teachers will pretend that we don’t speak any Spanish in a effort to prevent the students from just deferring to Spanish with us instead of practicing their English. However, part of Fulbright’s mission is to improve foreign opinions of Americans and improve international relations. And I don’t like that by pretending I don’t speak any language besides English, the teachers are helping to perpetuate the idea that Americans are uncultured and uninterested in communicating with other’s in their native language. It is almost as if it doesn’t fit with their schema of what an American is and so often Spaniards don’t acknowledge that I am as bilingual (if not more) than they are.
One of the biggest differences though that I have noticed is that teachers can touch the students. That sounds really wrong out of context, but I just mean to say that it is not frowned upon or seen as taboo to hug a student, kiss them on the cheek, hold their hand, or put a hand on their shoulder. Some people would disagree with me, but I think this is how teaching should be. A few disturbed people taking advantage of children have completely eliminated personal touch from schools. The Spanish are a more touchy-feely people in general, with a double cheek kiss being the preferred greeting. But placing a hand on a students shoulder to remind them to pay attention to the board is simply more effective that disrupting class to tell them. I find that children often respond better to touch than words. Furthermore, it seems like it would be frustrating to not be able to comfort a child with a hug when they are upset for fear of being label inappropriate. I would like to say that I have been able to erase my American mindset at school, but when I saw a male teacher put a female student on his lap, I was alarmed and had to remind myself that things are just different here. I hate that my immediate reaction is: pedophile!
Naturally, I am sick already from all the hugging sick students with grimy hands and runny noses, and I am dodging the lice that’s going around my 3rd grade class. But I guess that’s the life of a teacher, and I am realizing that the life of a teacher is much more difficult and nuanced that I expected. There is theory and technique that goes into teaching. Despite the stereotype of “those who can’t do teach,” it is a highly intellectual job. And maybe, depending on how I feel at the end of this year, the life of a teacher will become my life, and I would hope that my peers and family wouldn’t see this as a step down for me but a step up.
My School’s Christmas Dinner