Compare and Contrast

In the United States, we generally go to school from 8am-3pm. Or in some schools it's 7am-2pm. 

Here in the U.S., we are much more strict with classroom management. Generally, students are expected to walk in lines and to be quiet in the hallways. They are expected to be quiet when the teacher is talking and are only allowed to chat during certain times. I personally like this though because it is less stressful to me.

The security at our schools is very diligent, for obvious reasons. Usually classroom doors are expected to be locked and closed. The outside doors to the school and the office are generally locked and require you to ring to be let in. Teachers are required to wear their lanyards, etc. 

What I love so much about the schools at home, or at least most of the ones I've been in, is that it feels so calm and family oriented. 

On the other hand, the lunches at school are very short. Usually only 25 minutes. Teachers, on average, are only given about 30 minutes of prep time a day -- BUT this can vary from school to school. I've heard of some schools having an hour or so each day, which is wonderful. Additionally, teachers are required to accompany students at recess, which this was not the case at Santa Isabel in Barcelona. 

From my experiences in U.S. schools, most students don't start learning a second language until middle or high school. It is usually Spanish. Personally, I didn't have Spanish until my freshman year of high school. I have however, seen instances where students begin learning Spanish or another language at a young age. For example, I've heard of a school in Bowling Green where students have Chinese or French class. 

Diversity in the United States varies. As you know, the U.S. is considered the "melting pot" of the world. Depending on where you live, schools will have an immense amount of diversity, or sometimes hardly any at all. Bowling Green, Kentucky is overall pretty diverse. The area where I will be teaching in Tennessee is not quite as diverse. So, it really depends.

The first major difference is that in Spain, they go to school from 9am-5pm.

There is also less of what we know as "classroom management." Students are not expected to walk in lines or to walk quietly in the hallways. They're allowed to chat all throughout class. This however is just due to the cultural differences. It took some getting used to, but I loved the energy! The younger students are also much more independent than in the states, which I love!

Additionally, it is a very relaxed environment. The classroom doors are kept unlocked and sometimes open. The teachers here are given over twice as much prep time as we are. 

The absolute BEST part is that we had a 30 minute coffee break EVERYDAY, and our lunches were an hour and a half! Some days we had free time, and other days we had time for "personal work." It split the day up so well and made everything feel less stressful. 

Santa Isabel, though, is a private Catholic school. So, it of course likely has its differences from Spanish public schools, but it's unlike anything I've ever seen!

It is very extravagant both with its architecture and with some of its resources, etc. For example, they have a massive indoor pool and they have a weight room that is accessible to teachers, including us! However, they use way less technology than us.

This school is also trilingual! They are taught equally in Spanish, English, and Catalan. It is absolutely incredible. 

It is also SO diverse! I met students from all over the world -- Russia, Ukraine, Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico, Italy, Germany, China, Japan, and the list goes on! So, some of the students spoke upwards of 4 to 5 languages. One student spoke Russian, Spanish, English, Catalan, AND French and was ONLY 12 years old! It is seriously incredible. 

The boys in my host family speak Spanish, Catalan, French, and are learning English! And they're only 5 and 6 years old!