Secondary Education in Spain

Though this does not answer any of the reflection questions directly, I want to take some time to explain what I have learned about the education system here in Spain. My placement is a Cathoilc school in Sevilla called Bienaventura Virgin María Irlandesas de Bami, and it is a school founded by an order of Irish nuns and located in a barrio of Sevilla. Every Monday I observe three Spanish classes taught by a secondary teacher named Prado. Though the school educates both primary and secondary students, Prado has told me that there is much segregation between the primary school and the secondary school in terms of its schedule, methods, etc. On my first day in Bami Prado explained how the secondary education system works in Spain, as she noticed my bewilderment and confusion at the terminology she was throwing around, obviously forgetting that I was one of the two Americans in all of Bami.

            In Spain, once students complete primary school at the age of ten, they move onto the secondary program called Obligatory Secondary Education (Educación Secundaria Obligatoria) or ESO. There are four “grades” or levels of ESO, which are aptly called first, second, third, and fourth levels. Students complete ESO around age 15. At that point, they can choose to continue their education or leave school. At this school, the vast majority of students continue onto the program called “Bachillerato,” which consists of two more years of schooling. The Bachillerato program is a pre-college study of sorts.

            In a student’s second year of Bachillerato, when they are 17, they take a test in June called “Selectividad.” This is a university entrance exam similar to the SAT’s, but Spanish students take the test at the end of their final year. The Selectividad seems to be a very fair conclusion of a student’s secondary education, an observation I made based on Prado’s explanation of the exam’s grading process.

            There are two parts of the exam: the “General” section and the “Específica” (Specific) section. The General section covers four subjects: language, history, philosophy, and English language. These are the four most commonly completed subjects for this section. As expected, language in an obligatory subject. The Specific section is slightly more confusing to me, but Prado explained that it assesses more specific subjects that students want to be tested in. The exam scorers factor the two best scores of the completed subject sections into the final Specific score. The Specific section seems comparable to SAT II exams because students can choose subjects they are passionate about and prepared to be assessed in.

            The scoring for the Selectividad is slightly confusing. Half of the score consists of 40% of the General section score and 60% of the students’ grades from the two years of Bachillerato (the equivalent to a GPA in the US). The maximum General score is 10, and one can score up 4 points on the Specific section even though the summation of the 2 best Specific section scores is always greater than 5. Now the confusing and incredibly unique aspect of the Selectividad comes into play. A student’s final score depends directly on the career they are planning to pursue! I was completely blown away when she explained that because it is incredibly rare that American students know EXACTLY what they want to devote their lives to at the end of their high school careers. The scores from the Specific sections are multiplied by one of two coefficients, which is determined by the rigor, value, and need of the student’s desired career path. The coefficient 0.2 is applied to the scores of students that intend to pursue “more important” careers.

            Finally, the General score is added to the strikingly calculated Specific score. The maximum cumulative score for the exam is 14. With this score, students begin the university application process. Unlike in the US, where students now regularly apply to anywhere between 10 and 20 schools, Spanish students are limited to 5 different choices. By that I mean that they are given 5 “slots” to fill with their top 5 choices for university. Admissions depends solely on the students’ Selectividad scores and the number of spaces they have available for incoming students. A student’s first choice is obviously the best and hardest to get into, but they are turned down if their score does not reach a certain threshold. This is similar to university admissions in the US, but the analysis is based on much more than a single score on a single exam! I can only imagine the horror and stress that would ensue if this were the system in the United States!

            I am thoroughly enjoying learning about the different systems and levels of education in Spain while at my placement, which is reinforced by discussions with my high school age host sister. These two aspects of my life here in Sevilla give me great insight into education in Spain! 

Culture in the Irish Classroom

Let me first begin by saying that the cultural differences in the classroom on which I am about to reflect are not only visible in the elementary classroom, but at the university, the airport, and, quite honestly, the country at large.

So let it be said: things in Ireland are very relaxed.  To my BC-bred self, this might have been the hardest thing to adapt to (I still don't think I have!).  I did not need to apply for a student visa, but instead "check-in" with the Garda when I arrived.  Registration was not at the end of last semester, nor the beginning of this one; it was about three weeks after class started (Irish students told us that during this period, class is "optional." Does not compute!), and it is completed by paper.  Half of my classes didn't provide a syllabus.  Between us BC students, this place often seems like an organizational nightmare to those of us who tend to get nervous when Melita is two days late with our prac placements, or when our registration times are not at 8:00am on the first day.

That being said, Scoil Bhride (St. Bridget's School) is no exception!  When I went to Scoil Bhride on my first day, the principal gave me a quick tour, then simply asked me what age I'd like to teach, then walked right up to a classroom, and asked the teacher--mid-lesson!--If she'd like a student teacher.  She said sure, and that was that! I was officially a member of the Scoil Bhride community.  But don't jump to any conclusions; while I have referred to Ireland as my organizational nightmare, this very same relaxed attitude is part of the Irish mentality made Scoil Bhride welcome me with such open arms.  Each and every person I have met has remembered my name and asked me about how I am finding things here every time they see me.  The school cook is always bringing me a mug of her wonderful tea, and the administrators always hug me goodbye.  The teachers wear jeans, leggings, even sweatpants, but as a result they are perfectly willing to get on the floor, in the dirt, and stomp around in puddles with the kids.  When Galway made it to the all-Ireland hurling finals (for the first time in over 20 years!), the entire school took time out of class to hang banners, draw pictures, etc, and teachers used this time to help the kids study their Gaeilge (Irish).

My CT doesn't seem to have a totally set plan for the day (not the way I am used to in Boston, at least), and sometimes that results in long lessons that take away time from other subjects.  But the advantage to this approach is undoubtedly that she teaches until every student understands the material.  Another effect of this timetable strategy (or lack thereof! hahah) is that it often results in lessons that take a detour, but promote inter-curricular connections.  For example, we have begun studying trees in Miss T's second class (roughly equivalent to first grade) room.  It was actually quite fun, we decided (last second, of course) to take a nature walk to collect leaves, and Miss T used these leaves to discuss the difference between Deciduous trees and Evergreen trees.  When she went to graph the student's observations on the board, however, she was not confident in her spelling of "Deciduous."  So, she went off-plan and asked one of the students to pass out the dictionaries, and the class spent about 10-15 minutes building on their dictionary skills, including finding the word at hand, discussing parts of speech, and considering synonyms.  On the one hand, this was a great way to incorporate the dictionary lesson in a way that helped children make the connection to real life! But on the other hand, They lost about that much time in their tree lesson and didn't quite get through everything that Miss T wanted to.

What's more, Miss T seemed quite taken aback at the amount of paperwork I showed her (attendence sheet, ACTions sheet, Form 1).  In a country that pretty much does not do paperwork, I feel very sheepish trying to acquaint Miss T with what I need from her in an official sense without feeling like I am imposing upon her or the culture of the school.  

I'm very interested to see where my thoughts will end up at the end of the semester, and how this experience will influence my teaching.  Right now, I'm a little too culture-shocked by this laid-back atmosphere to see exactly how it works and the advantages it presents.  The thought that keeps nagging me in the back of my mind is that there is next-to-no classroom management strategy or lesson templates to work with!  What would our supervisors say????

Similarities and Differences in Aussie Classrooms

            I’ve been at South Coogee Public School outside of Sydney, Australia for about eight weeks now, and I’m really enjoying my time here!! I’m in a pretty rowdy second grade classroom where my CT is absent a good amount of the time, so sometimes it can get tricky to control the students when it is just me and the full-time student teacher, but the kids are sweet and its been a great experience so far. The school system here is definitely different from home.  The main thing I’ve noticed is the layout of the school. At least in schools that I have learned and taught in at home there is one big main building that houses everything: the classrooms, the faculty lounge, the gym, the cafeteria, and so on. At South Coogee Public School there are three blocks of buildings: One for the upper grades, faculty lounge, and offices, one for the lower grades, and one for the preschool. In addition there is a fourth building that acts as a hall for performances and assemblies. The school doesn’t have a cafeteria or gymnasium, lunch and gym class are all outside, as well as all of the lockers and hallways. Having a school next to a beach with beautiful weather means that a lot of time is spent outside! Another big difference here is that the school day is much less structured, at least in my classroom. There is basically a big block for ELA in the morning, then a big block for math (which they call maths) after recess, and then a block for social studies, arts, or science after lunch. The teachers don’t have a concrete, detailed plan for each lesson; they kind of just go with the flow and see what they can fit in. This is compared to home where each lesson is planned and the schedule is usually laid out in detail on the board.

            A great similarity that I have seen between here and home is the collaboration between teachers. Teachers here share lessons and whole units, and my CT has an amazing supply closet full of materials and lesson and unit plans accumulated from years of teaching and collaborating with others. Just last week we used worksheets for a unit on toys developed by the teacher across the hall. It reminded me of home and the way that teachers in the American schools I have taught at have shared information, advice, and lessons with each other. One last similarity between the American and Australian systems is the existence of standards. I know it seems pretty basic, but it is important that the teachers have standards around which they can plan lessons and units. My CT here has shown me the math and ELA standards for this term, and there are also national standards for what the students are supposed to learn. This reminded me of the national benchmarks in the U.S. for each subject. Overall, I’ve been able to see a lot of similarities between the school systems, but there are still a lot of cultural differences here in Australia that I am still learning to understand!

Kiwi Culture in the Classroom

Having been in New Zealand for over two months at this point I have started to get a good understanding of the “kiwi” way of life. I would argue that the lifestyle here is much more laidback than the states. I see this lifestyle as well as aspects of the New Zealand culture intertwined in the school.

            An unfortunate demonstration of this lifestyle is the lack of importance placed on special needs education in the school. In my classroom there is a young boy who has sever special needs. In the United States public school system he would receive one-on-one attention, if not a full time aid. However, here he only receives one-on-one attention for 45 minutes 3X a week. The rest of the time, it is my CT’s responsibility to provide for him. For her though it understandingly becomes overwhelming to prepare an entirely different academic plan each day for him. This ultimately begins to take her time away from the rest of the class and other children who could use some extra attention. For now the boy often uses the classroom iPad and while this keeps him occupied, it does not further his academic skills in a way that a one-on-one aid could.

            The history New Zealand culture is unique in that it is a mix of European colonial settlers and the native Maori populations. In recent decades, more importance has been placed on reviving Maori traditions. Recently the school had “Maori language week” where emphasis on the Maori culture was given. The students learned Maori words, read Maori stories, and did activities tied to the local traditions. Evidence of their work in this subject is displayed around the classroom including translations for basic classroom words in the Maori language.  In addition, with the recent Olympics the students have been learning about cultural icons in social studies, including both those internationally, and within New Zealand. They have had discussions about what makes New Zealand unique and they even wrote on why the next Olympics should (or should not be) held in New Zealand. The responses were quite entertaining! The effort to incorporate New Zealand culture into the curriculum has been impressive and  for me, has been a unique learning experience alongside the children.  

Observing a Lesson in New Zealand

Lesson delivery in New Zealand is fairly similar to what I have seen in the U.S with some slight differences. In my first practicum experience in the U.S my class had only 12 students. This class, on the other hand, has 26 students, providing me with an optimal experience to observe how she manages academic differences amongst the group.

            Writing lessons always start out immediately following the morning roll and notices. Lately the students have been working on their “slice of time” writing pieces, which they will later give speeches on. The unit encourages students to focus on a particular moment and write using many details. This particular lesson started with Mrs. Sturge handing out a sample “slice of life” writing done by a student in another class. The teacher read the short paragraph out loud and then had the students turn and talk with a person sitting near them about their favorite sentence. She then had the students share their favorite sentences and asked them why they liked it, sparking a further discussion about what makes good writing. The example had been about a moment looking for a lost object. The students were instructed that they were going to write similar stories today. They were to brainstorm for the first five minutes at their desks using the mind-map technique previously taught and then to write for 10 minutes and then edit for three. She released the students back to their desks where most worked independently. After the allotted time the students were called back to the mat. Those that wanted to share their pieces could do so. In addition, Mrs. Sturge shared her mind-map and story that she had written. The lesson ended with the thought that they would work more with this “slice of life” unit the next day.

            Having 26 students can challenge Mrs. Sturge as not all students are at the same level. She accommodates for these discrepancies by giving each student a specific focus that she has written in to their notebook. This way the students know what she expects from them and what they need to focus on. In this particular lesson, I liked that she gave a student example, showing the students what they are capable of if they took their time. One thing I might have done differently was for her to share her example prior to releasing the students so that they could be reminded of the mind-map brainstorming exercise. The students are young and some could have really benefited from this but nonetheless, the lesson was extremely successful as many students shared some really creative and detailed stories!