Travel Blog - Comparing Irish Education to American Education

Differences in Irish education (based on my placement):

School lasts from 8:30 AM to 2:10 PM.
Teachers at my school placement do not arrive that much earlier than when school starts and do not stay late unless there is a meeting.
Students re grouped by age but this grouping is called their "class", like "2nd class".
Classes are combined: 1st and 2nd class & 3rd and 4th class
The 5-6 year-olds are called junior and senior infants.
Primary students complete swim lessons about once a week for six to eight weeks.
The homeroom teachers plan and teach P.E., music, and other related arts.
Teachers do not get a planning period. They have a couple breaks for tea/coffee and lunch.
They have almost 3-5 school days off every month, so they have more frequent breaks.
Their summer break has July and August off.
Students learn Irish (Gaeilge) even though they all speak English
Students address their teachers by their first name at my placement school.
Almost all students are dropped off at school by their parents or guardians. There are no school buses.
It seems much more relaxed with security here. They still have safety procedures, but people can come directly to our classroom door and be let in by the teacher without stopping to talk to the secretary first.
School is supposed to start at 8:30, but it just depends on when one of the teachers rings the physical bell to get students' attention.
I notice students in our small school arriving several minutes past the start time, but they usually just walk straight to their classroom door without checking in with the secretary.
The school seems more like a Montessori school: Students are more free to play and think the way they would like to. They try to spend additional time outside other than just for break time. Grades are mixed.
Classroom management seems less strict here. More students seem to disrespect their teacher here. Some seem to think of their teacher as an equal.

Differences in American education (based on my placements):

School lasts from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM.
Most teachers either get to school early and/or stay after school preparing for lessons.
Students are grouped by age but this grouping is called their "grade", like "3rd grade".
Typically, unless it is a split class, one class only has students in the same grade level, and most public schools have a few classes for that grade level.
The 5-6 year-olds are in kindergarten or 1st grade.
Students would have to attend swim lessons on their own time and with their own money.
There are related arts teachers who plan specials and teach this.
Teachers get a planning period.
We have a fall break, winter break, spring break, & summer break in addition to a few days off throughout the quarters of the school year.
The summer break has June and July off.
At all the schools I've observed in, students address teachers by their last names with Mr., Mrs., or Ms. in front of their last name.
Students are dropped off by their parents or guardians or ride the bus. The school district provides school buses for all students who attend the school in their district.
Schools here are much more structured and have more protocol for security. Guests must check-in at the office and share why they are there.
School starts at a set time, and schools usually have an automated bell to let everyone know it is time to be in the classroom.
Most students arrive on time to school, if not earlier than the start time. If they are late, even by just a few minutes, they must check in at the office.
Grades are usually not mixed, and usually, the only time outside is during recess time. Students seem to be expected to think in a similar way to what is taught.
Classroom management seems more strict. Teachers seem to be more respected by students as they know that they are an authority figure.

Similarities between Irish and American education

Kids are kids no matter where you are! I have noticed that my students here are very similar to my American students in their personalities and curiousities. Kids in Ireland like to have fun, laugh, be silly, explore, chat with their peers, etc., just like my students at home did.
The content in common core subjects, like math and reading, and how it it is taught is very similar to the content in Kentucky. Students are learning very similar content to what is taught in KY. However, I have noticed that it seems like the math content they are teaching to 1st and 2nd class would have already been taught to this age group in the previous grade in KY. Although, they seem to have a deeper understanding of the content here and are able to think of addition and subtraction in different and more complex ways here.
Differentiation still very much so applies here since there are students who require more support due to a diagnosis or being an English language learner.
Teachers use very similar teaching strategies to help students learn, like allowing students to share with a partner before sharing aloud, using motions to teach different vocabulary, asking higher-order thinking questions to promote deeper thinking, etc.