So far I have seen many similarities and differences from St. Paul's School in Barcelona and schools back home in Kentucky. My first realization is that kids will be kids no matter where you go. They love to play, be goofy and silly, and they have similar interests to those in America. The way the kids act at each age is also the same. Before I came here, I had wondered if the kids matured faster, slower, or the same as back home and now I see they are very similar.
Another similarity is the content being taught. At St. Paul's the content is the same as we teach, but they have more subjects added. Those subjects are Catalan and Spanish. They are taught english, math, science, and social studies all in the English language. A difference with content is that they do not have standards to follow as we do in Kentucky, so it seems to me that they teach things at a slower pace than we do. Technology is used as a teaching tool here just as much as it is used back home.
One of the biggest differences I've noticed is the amount of breaks received by both teachers and students. In the morning, the teachers and students receive a 30 minute breakfast break. The students get to go outside and run around on the playground for this time while eating breakfast. Lunch is also an hour and half. This allows plenty of time for both students and teachers to eat. With the left over time, teachers have time to plan and prepare while the students get to send that time on the playground. On top of those two breaks, teachers have an extra hour of time for a break almost every time. Teachers complete lesson planning, preparing and parent meetings during this time. There is also a 2 hour block built in on Wednesday's where students are either doing sports or creativity with the special areas while teachers have staff meetings. The students also call all of their teachers by their first name, which is very interesting to me. It was neat explaining to the students that in America I would be called Ms. Congleton and it is a sign of disrespect for students to call me by my first name.
A typical lesson here includes a power point and then a short activity. The students here are held to very high expectations in which they are held completely responsible for their learning. Due to this just having a power point of information seems to work well for them but does not differentiate instruction for all different styles of learning. In the schools I have taught at in Kentucky, much more hands-on activities and different ways of providing the information are used to reach all different styles of learning and all the students.
The playground at St. Paul's is not like typical playground in Kentucky. The school grounds have 5 different buildings that classes are held. During playground time, students are allowed to go anywhere on campus. The playground equipment includes table tennis tables, a turf futbol field, a concrete futbol field, tether ball, slides, and areas to just sit outside and hang out.