Experiences

November 16, 2019- The Airport

We have arrived at the JFK airport awaiting our flight to Barcelona. We are all so excited and having so much fun already! I cannot wait for our first adventure in Spain when we arrive tomorrow morning.

Week 1: November 20, 2019- First Impressions

Whew, it is already day 3 of student teaching at St. Paul's school. I am placed in 6th grade, and I have loved it so far. Everyone has been so welcoming to us. On the first day of school, we loaded the bus for the first time, and the first student I met is actually a student in my class. I mentioned I would be in her class and she screamed with excitement. She was overjoyed that "the girl from Kentucky" was going to be in her class for the next few weeks. My first impression of the school and the town exceeded my expectations. The town is beautiful and so is the school. The students are so independent and work so hard on their academics. The school campus is larger than the schools I have been to in KY. There are 4 buildings at the schools for students. Each building has at least two floors of classes. I was surprised that sports are not popular in schools. They do not have sports at this school for any grade including high school. That is different than schools in the US. I am used to schools being competitive in sports and playing several sports. The students at St. Paul's learn 3 languages at school which are Catalan, Spanish, and English. Some students learn another language after school such as French or Chinese. I was blown away by the art ability these students have. On Monday's during the last two hours of school, the students are working on their own project that they chose. The only requirement was that it had to relate to one of their 8 values in life. Some students were interested in photography, art, English, Math, and others. On Monday, I helped with the students that chose art related projects. Each student was working a unique project, and there was not one project that was the same. It was neat to see various projects being completed in one class. One student was sewing clothes for her Barbie Doll. Some students were making a movie out of their drawings and using technology to make them animated. These students had different stories and drawings. Also, the way they presented their drawings to animate them were unique. Also, there were students creating clay sculptures, and there was such a variety of other projects students were working on in this class.

The views, buildings, and shopping places in Barcelona is AMAZING. Everything is breathtakingly beautiful especially the details the buildings have and all of the beautiful parks. I am so excited to explore and tour more of this city. So far, my friends and I have walked the streets near out apartment. We have found several cute shops that have clothes, accessories, school supplies, and other cute items. We have tried a new restaurant every night and have found some favorites. There was a restaurant called Macchina, and it was delicious. It was a pasta place that was similar to fast food. We ordered at the front counter, but they would bring you the food at your table. There were so many pasta sauces, toppings, and noodles to choose from. We all loved this place. There is another restaurant that is next door to our apartment called Coco Vail. It is Spain's take on an American restaurant. This is the first place we found that has ranch, buffalo chicken sandwiches, and other american food, and it is so convenient for us, too.

Week 2: November 28, 2019- Compare & Contrast Education Systems

Weeks 3: December 4, 2019- Cultural Treasures Discovered

During this student teaching experience at St. Paul's, I have discovered a lot about the culture in Spain. Outside of school through various occasions, I have learned their customs in the city as well. The following list are various cultural treasures I have discovered during my time in Barcelona both inside and outside of school.

• Time and Measurement:
  • To communicate time, everyone uses military time. All of their written schedules are in military time; however, they will say the lesson begins a quarter past 3. Also, they use the metric system which has been an adjustment. I am in a math class, or maths as they call it, and I had to teach a conversion lesson. It was actually challenging it to teach conversions using their method versus the method I was taught as a child. We were always taught KHDudcm and a story to remember it. They usually only use Kilo, basic units, centi, and milli. Also, they spell meters as metres which was hard to remember when writing on the board during the lesson. Although it was challenging for me, it really gave me an insight to teaching the Metric system.
• Greetings:
  • When people introduce themselves to us on the first day, most of them gave me a slight hug and kissed both sides of my cheeks. The very first time this occurred, I was confused because this was not my normal greeting. I am used to shaking hands or giving a full hug. As time has past, when we say hello, we still do the side hug and kiss on the cheeks. Everyone we have met at school have been so welcoming of us!
• Start times:
  • Everything starts later here. School does not start until 8:45 am. They do not eat breakfast at school until 10:45, and lunch is at 1:15. The students leave school at 4:45 which is later in the afternoon than schools in Kentucky. Some places do not open for dinner until 8. Majority of people here do not eat dinner until 8 or 9 in the evening. I am so used to eating dinner earlier in KY, so we have adjusted to eating later since being here.
• Passing By:
  • When I am out shopping in KY, I always smile or acknowledge others even if I do not know them. It is a polite way to pass by someone. However, here everyone just walks by. They are not rude, but they do not really acknowledge those around them.

Reflections of Student Teaching in Barcelona, Spain

Wow, It is already my last week here! I have learned so much, and I cannot wait to incorporate some of my experiences into my classroom. One of the first things I observed in class is that the math classwork is differentiated. There are 3 different worksheets that relate to the lesson that was just taught. The students must self assess and choose the worksheet that is best for them. The worksheets are color coded as well. For example, the red worksheet is the basic sheet. It corresponds the most with the lesson. The yellow sheet takes the lesson a step further, but it is still very similar. The green worksheet pushes the students to apply the lesson in different scenarios. It may be a word problem, the lesson in a different context, etc.. Also, at the end of each week (on Friday's), they have a Maths investigation. All of the 6th grade classes go to this at the same time. This is when students are given the opportunity to get extra help on any topic that was taught this week or get retaught a lesson that they did not understand. If they do not need either of those, they do an investigation. Blake and I were able to teach two of these investigations. It always began with a brain teaser which gave the students something to work on while everyone was transitioning to their correct group. Then, the students do an activity that challenges them on the topic that they are studying in maths. For example, the first week the students were working on ordering decimals and fractions. So, the students were given a table with various fractions and decimals between the digits 0 and 1. The students worked with a partner and had to place the decimals in order. If the decimal or fraction was closer to 1, it would be placed by the 1. The first student in their group to get 3 fractions/decimals in a row won the game. We had several variations for those that finished wuicker than other groups. It was such a fun and challenging activity for the students. Another activity that I absolutely loved was an activity that the students did to encourage each other. It was one of my favorite takeaways from this experience. It was called "Thank you for being you..". On the a PowerPoint, the teacher had all the students' picture and a few sentence starters. He would choose one student from the slideshow and they would step out of the room. The students would think what they could say to the particular student that thanks for being who they are. The students comes back to class and sits in the teacher's chair or in the front of the classroom. The students go around and each say why they are thankful for the chosen student. Afterwards, each student is given a post it note to write why they are thankful for this student. The student is able to read all of the notes and glue them to her picture that is placed in the classroom. They do not do this activity often, so they are all so excited when it is time to play. Everyone gives such thoughtful compliments to the student. It definitely builds the students' confidence and helps them to be kind to each other.

November 11, 2019- Last Day at St. Paul's

My time student teaching abroad has flown by so fast! Although I am excited to return home and see my family and friends. (And graduate on Saturday!) I have loved the experience and the school I was placed at in Barcelona. Everyone has welcomed the four of us with open arms, and they have all helped us with anything we have needed. So many people have given us restaurant recommendations that has food that we would like. They have given us tips for traveling, helped us look for flights, and given the best advice for every experience inside and outside of school. Some of them even shared their phone numbers with us in case we ever needed help or needed a translator. On our last day, they threw us a small party in the staff room that was filled with coffee, sweet snacks, and lots of laughs. They told us stories about their Christmas festivities and traditions to help us feel at home. My 6th grade class with Richard let me teach them about Christmas traditions in America and my family traditions. Afterwards, I allowed a few students to share some of their Christmas traditions. There were so many that I had never heard of. Some were similar to mine, but they did things a little different. For example, they played the White Elephant gift exchange game. Expect, they had a different name and they played with names. Everyone wanted to be last so they could choose any gift that was opened. The person that went first normally kept the gift that was opened since they were the first person to go. After my lesson and the end of the class, the students played Thank you for Being You. Instead of picking a student in the class like I was expecting, they chose me. It was definitely such a sweet moment hearing each student say why they were thankful for me or why they have enjoyed me being here the past month. It is a memory that I will cherish forever. Each student that I have met through this experience will always hold a special place in my heart. When we leave for KY tomorrow, I piece of my heart will be left in Barcelona, Spain. I hope that I am able to return one day and visit the teachers, staff, and beautiful city of Barcelona.