Experiences

Reflection

As my trip reached its final days, I've found myself making a mental note of all the things I'd like to implement in my classroom back in America. One thing I definitely plan on implementing is a new way of differentiating. In the majority of the lessons here, the teachers will have 3 activities prepared: a red one, yellow one and green one. The red one is the simplest, the yellow one is a bit harder, and the green one is the most challenging. One direct instruction is over, students are allowed to select the activity that best suits them. Of course this requires some monitoring by the teacher, to ensure that students are selecting an activity that is good for them, but I think this is a great way of differentiating as well as giving the students independence in regards to their learning.

Another thing I'd like to incorporate in my classroom is something called "Thank You for Being You". This is a self-esteem enhancing activity that is done when time permits. The teacher will select a student, who will leave the room for a few minutes, while the rest of the class quickly writes down things about that student that they are thankful for. When the student returns, he or she is given all of the notes in the form of a book. I love this because it teaches kindness and makes each student feel valued. It made me think of Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs. Students will not be able to learn core content until their basic needs are met, including the need of being loved.

Lastly, from this experience, I feel like I will be coming home with a whole new perspective. This is my 4th time out of the country, my second in Spain, but it is the first time I truly had to adapt to a new culture (rather than simply visiting). I know what its like to really step outside of my comfort zone in many ways such as trying new foods, getting around using public transportation and simply communicating with people who have a different language and different culture than myself. After having difficulty communicating with the employees at my residence who did not speak English, I now have much more empathy for ESL students and want to work harder to accommodate them. I am excited to use what I have learned in Spain back in my own classroom!

Final Days in Barcelona

For our third and final weekend in Europe, we decided to spend it in Barcelona. Plus, due to last Friday being Spain's Constitution Day, we got a three day weekend. Our weekend kicked off with a nighttime bus tour that took us all around the city, stopping at Port Vell and the Fountains of Barcelona. We spent the next day exploring Barceloneta Beach and the Gothic Quarter. On Saturday, we spent the day at Tibidabo, an amusement park located on a mountain that overlooks the city. We rode many rides (some that were a bit terrifying), explored yet another cathedral and even got to see a beautiful sunset. Our plans for Sunday consisted of the most popular Barcelona attractions: Park Guell and Sagrada Familia. Both of these sights were breath-taking. Out of all that we did here, I think my favorite attraction was the Sagrada Familia. I did not expect it to be as colorful, or as unique as it is. It was absolutely incredible and I hope to be able to come back to Barcelona one day to see how it has grown.

Here are some pictures from our final weekend abroad.

Weekend Trips

We wanted to make the most of our time in Europe. We had three weekends here, two regular weekends and one long weekend. We decided to travel on our first two weekends and spend our last long weekend in Barcelona. Our first trip took us to Nice, France. Unfortunately, we were not lucky with the weather while in France. It poured all day Saturday and half the day on Sunday. We made the best of it and were still able to explore Nice and see lots of cool sights. We saw the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral, the beach, some views of the city, and an art museum. We also got to try a few delicious French foods, macarons being my personal favorite.

Our second weekend trip took us to Milan, Italy. We still got some rain on this trip, but were lucky to have beautiful weather on Saturday. We explored the Duomo (a breathtaking cathedral), Galleria Vittoria Emmanuele (an open air high fashion shopping mall), Castle Sforzeca (a beautiful castle), the Navigli District and the Starbucks Reserve Roastery. We also tried lots of Italian food. I ate pizza quite a bit, but also tried a "spicy spaghetti" that is an Italian favorite, and a gelato-waffle dessert.

Cultural Treasures Discovered

Since this trip is my second time in Spain, I already knew a bit about their customs. Of course there are the expected differences, such as writing time in 24 hour time or using the metric system (both of which have been difficult to adjust to, but truly are much easier than American time and measurement). Another custom I have learned is how they greet people. For example, when greeting one another, they kiss each cheek. I think this is a beautiful and much more intimate way to say hello than the typical American handshake. Another example is their mealtimes. They eat lunch much later than we do in America, and they eat a much bigger lunch than we do as well. They also do not eat dinner until around 9:00 pm, which is way later than in America (and also in the UK). This has been a bit difficult for us because when we start getting hungry around 6:30 pm, there are not many restaurants open. In addition, they do not tip at all here. Instead, everyone is paid fair wages for their work. I think this is much more fair to waiters and cab drivers than the tipping system in America is, since it is often that people do not tip enough or at all. One of my favorite customs is how they spend their Sundays. Very few stores and restaurants are open on Sundays in most areas of Spain. They instead spend their Sunday resting or with family. America slightly does this, but not to this extent. Of course, big tourist cities such as Barcelona or Madrid always have a few options, but for the most part there is not much open.

Compare/Contrast Education Systems

Throughout my first two weeks here, I have noticed many similarities and differences between the education system in Spain and the one in Kentucky. There are some things that are the same across all countries. For example, the kids act just the same as the ones in America do. They act like kids, goofy and innocent and excited to learn (for the most part). Most of the content is also the same. We are teaching the same concepts and skills here that are taught back home. They also incorporate technology into their lessons and differentiate them, which are vital to effective teaching in America as well.

However, there are more differences than there are similarities. One of the biggest differences is the schedule of the school day. Both the students and teachers receive a 30 minute break in the morning and an hour and a half during lunchtime. In addition to those breaks, the teachers also get many breaks throughout the week, sometimes as much as two hours in a day (PLUS the longer lunch). This allows teachers to get all of their planning done during the school day and not have to stay after to work on anything. The style of teaching is also quite different. Almost every lesson uses a power point and a short activity. In my opinion, the teaching back home is more hands on. Yet, even just using direct instruction seems to work well for these students. By the next day, almost all of these students have retained the content taught the day before. It is truly incredible. Another neat thing that they do here is a learning walk. A few times a year, teachers will walk through other classes teaching a specific subject (Math, English, etc.) and gain ideas from observing their colleagues. I was able to participate in a Math learning walk and it gave me lots of great ideas.

The view

First Impressions

Upon arrival, I was immediately amazed by the city of Barcelona. It reminded me a bit of New York City, but with buildings that look far less modern. One of the coolest things I have noticed is that they have palm trees here. Of course this makes sense, since Barcelona is on the beach, however I am not used to seeing palm trees in a big city. It also reminded me quite a bit of Madrid. Our accommodations are very central, we are just a short walk from Placa Catalunya which is a main square with lots of restaurants and shops. This has been great because we have been able to explore around there on some nights after school. I have also been amazed by the people of Barcelona. A large majority of them speak English, and even the ones who do not, are incredibly helpful. The only thing that has been a difficulty so far was figuring out the metro. We had trouble figuring it out, and once we thought we had it down, we ended up riding it way further than our destination. On the bright side, It served as a learning experience and a funny story!

St. Paul's has been mind-blowing. Their school is very different than a typical Kentucky elementary school. Their day structure is very different, and the responsibilities of the teachers even differ. All of the teachers at St. Paul's have been very kind and helpful, it is fun to talk to them and compare cultures. In addition, the students are all so sweet and excited to have us there! I am amazed at how well the students can speak English. Many of them know 3 languages from school, and still engage in skills after school such as guitar lessons or Chinese lessons. I even met one student who (according to other teachers and students) looks just like a little me. I have loved my first three days here and I am excited for the rest of my experience!

Here are some photos of our first few days.

Pre-Departure Prep

In order to prepare myself for this trip, I first tackled student teaching in Kentucky. My first placement was in 4th grade at Bristow Elementary. I absolutely loved these kids, the school and 4th grade. My second and current placement is at Natcher Elementary in 2nd grade. This placement is proving to be awesome, as well! I have two weeks left of it and I will be sad to say goodbye. Both Bristow and Natcher have prepared me to take my teaching skills across the Atlantic. I have also been preparing by researching Spain. I am informing myself of the norms and customs beforehand, in order to truly dive into the Spanish culture while I'm there. To help with the language barrier, I have ordered a book called Spanish Essentials for Dummies and I plan to begin studying the language before I leave. I also had the wonderful opportunity to visit Spain this past May. I traveled to Madrid and Barbate. This experience greatly prepared me by serving as a "sneak peek" of what it is like to live in Spain. Here are some photos from my first trip.