Rune Olsen's reflections on the job shadowing project Mobility program Joan Brossa, Barcelona, 9th-13th of February 2026:
I was welcomed by Albert Noguera at 9 AM on Monday the 9th of February. We went straight to a class (4th) and the subject was economics. All the students were eagerly following Albert’s instructions, and I think it was a good learning culture in the class. I was also given the opportunity to present myself and my school and my own teaching experiences from Norway. The students asked me a lot of questions as well. It was overall a good experience.
Later that Monday the 9th of February I was introduced to an English class (2nd) together with teacher Eulàlia Garcés. They were exploring different subjects in English, and I had, again, the opportunity to present myself and my vast teaching experiences from Trysil, Norway. The students were very eager, and I got a lot of great questions about Norway and my home school in Trysil. Some of the boys were especially interested in football and even asked me about Haaland, Odegaard an Bodø/Glimt. In English of course, and they really had a good understanding about the information I was giving. I was impressed, and that group of students really made my day. And, of course, the leader of the Mobility program, Andreu Castrero helped me a lot to settle in and feeling welcomed and giving me meaning to the interactions. Just great!
On February the 10th I was together with Albert's class in economics (8.55-9.50), and they were about 30 students, and I was given a warm welcome. They were working on a test they were given back from Albert, and most of them followed the instructions and took notes from the teacher. I presented myself in the beginning of the lesson, and after that they went straight into working mode. I observed them during this lesson, and they were working well. I even learned some Spanish words for economics, history and social science. I needed that!
Later, Tuesday the 10th I went with Andreu to a social science class (3rd) and I, again, got the opportunity to present myself and my teaching experiences from Norway. This class was just amazingly interested in what I had to talk about regarding my experience as a teacher in Norway, but also about how it is to live in my home community and country. Andreu had an interesting approach by integrating Catalan and Norwegian cultures. I really had to help when it comes to Norwegian anthems, music and other culturally approaches. So, the students were on to this, and they asked me a lot of questions, especially the girls.
On Wednesday the 11th it was a teachers strike in Barcelona, so I was given the opportunity to go and support the teachers. There is a big difference between Norway and Catalonia when it comes to rules and allowance regarding strikes. I got a map with routes to different places in Barcelona where the strike was taking place. I met the marching teachers in the street just below where I stayed in Carrer de Lepant, and I followed them quite a long way together with the police and a lot of others. I hope this will help the teachers to get closer to their goals!
Then on Thursday the 12th the schools in Barcelona were closed due to heavy winds.
The closure and conclusions were on Friday the 13th, and this day I also joined Andreu's class in Citizenship, politics and law (12.40-13.35).
All in all, my overall impressions will include the fact that the learning culture in this school is good. The students seem happy, and interesting in learning. They are eager and have no problems in expressing their desires to learn and develop as good human beings.
The cultural atmosphere in the school is also very good, and the teachers I met were polite and warm to me. To be a good teacher is hard work, every day, and I can see, like in my own school, that teachers here are really putting in a shift. I also noticed that there is a lot of different “projects” going on during a week. This week there has been a strike, and the school also closed due to risky weather conditions on Thursday. It was also a sort of carnival on Friday the 13th of February.
Sometimes it is very exhausting to be a teacher, and sometimes it is just amazing. We all must find the balance, to “survive” as a professional teacher. I think that the teachers here can do just that, getting the balance between all the daily tasks and at the same time being able to breath!
I really enjoyed my stay here, and I have learned a lot about the teaching culture in Spain, and Catalonia specifically.
Thanks for having me, Andreu and Albert (and the rest of you as well)!
Best regards