Happy Thursday!

Or....Happy Thanksgiving!

To those of you in states, I hope you have a great holiday full of good food, good company, and good shopping deals! Sigh, I am missing Black Friday. Oh well, I know my mom and my aunts are more than making up for it wherever they decide to go.

Have a great day!!

Since I left...

I have now been cell phone free for over a week and I have survived! It is currently being used as an overpriced alarm clock. I do have computer access at all times, but the cell phone has not been missed. I have been able to communicate to those I want to with Skype, my blog, email, and facebook. It has been nice not always having something in my pocket.

I have also been without some of my favorite foods since I left. For example, I have not seen anything resembling a pancake, grilled chicken, or popcorn since I have arrived. I have not had a single turkey sandwich, bowl of ravioli, or Taco Bell. Or salt! There is no salt or pepper to be found in this place. (Future students: Pack some seasonings! )But being here, I have learned to love my carbs. I eat bread, a lot of bread, daily. I eat fruit, a lot of fruit, daily. The fruit was actually a surprise to me. They keep fruit (apples, bananas, oranges, pears, clementines) in our flat, then they are also available at breakfast, morning snack, and lunch. Today, we had pizza for lunch. It was actually pretty good. Some of the food has been iffy. But the pizza was cheese with some type of pork on it, maybe ham pieces.

Today, was a pretty easy day. Jordi was gone to a UNICEF conference in Barcelona. I still went to class, with no students, and worked on the computer. I am giving a presentation tomorrow to my 1st ESO classes (12-13 year olds) about American Geography. Hmmm....I had to do some refreshing on this. So, I spent the majority of the day fighting Spanish Powerpoint to put together a presentation. Now, back in my flat, I have been able to work better with my English Powerpoint and thanks to Google images, am just about done. The rest of the gang went into town to gather supplies for our Thanksgiving feast tomorrow night.

Thanksgiving in Spain...should be interesting.

Below is a picture of what the outside of the school looks like when the students are released. Their school buses are more like greyhound buses.

Check this out!

Hey everyone...

One of my teachers, Jordi, keeps a blog for the school I am at. He asked me to write a post about what the 4th year secondary students are doing in the technology class. They are the ones that are playing with robots.

Here is the link to the blog. I wrote it in English. He told me to tell all my teachers that this is proof that I am working and not on vacation.

http://sekcatsecundaria.wordpress.com/



Enjoy!

PICTURES

Here is a link to all my pictures thus far.

https://picasaweb.google.com/tammijones83/Spain2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKHtibygs9mFPg&feat=directlink

This link will still work when I update my album.


Go check them out!

 

This is a video from one of my younger students classes. It is a History and Geography class, taught in English. These students are all around 12-13 and would be in 7th grade in the states. This clip is in the middle of class, while students were changing presentations. The man in the front in the red sweater is the teacher. Also, if you notice around 6-7 seconds, on the right, there is no door to this classroom. There is a half bookshelf and a large walkway. That is the entrance to the class. Outside this door, there are 3 other classrooms. This noise level is typical for this class. Enjoy!

Also, there is another entry below this one that I just posted as well. Make sure to check them both out!!

About the school...

This is going to be an overview of the school for those students that will be here in the future and others that are just curious.

• School is from 9:30 to 5:10. There is a 30 minute break at 12 noon and then 1-1.5 hour break(depending on the class you are in) at 2:20 for lunch. On Wednesdays, there is no class in the afternoons. I am told that in the rest of Spain, most schools do not have class on Wednesday or Friday. Interesting...
• The schedule here is very lax. I write that school starts at 9:30, but kids are still arriving 10 minutes or so after that. During the day, there is no allotted time for class changes or locker breaks. Therefore, if class is supposed to start at 11:10, then expect it to start around 11:20. Teachers do not arrive early to class. If they are there at 11:10, that is good enough. There is an occasional bell denoting that class is over, however students will just leave around the right time. 
• The school is laid out so that most of the classrooms have walls of glass or no walls at all. I see this as a major cause for distractions, including both visually and auditory problems. Most of these kids seem to do fine with the extra noise and movements, however, they are still just kids. They notice changes. I think it has been more of an adjustment for me than them.
• They will go to school until December 23. But they do not come back till January 9th. They celebrate another holiday on January 6, which is like Christmas again but just for little children. My teacher explained that it is when "the magic kings bring gifts to the infants."
• Most(all but 2, maybe) girls have long, brown hair, usually straight or wavy. The boys all have short dark hair. All students wear uniforms and I have witnessed several teachers reminding students to tuck their shirts in. Girls all wear plaid skirts and tights while boys all wear jackets and ties. These items can be purchased at the school store for a price, and used clothing can be bought.
• The biggest difference that I have noticed in my short time here is the classroom management. It is completely different. These students are very loud and talkative. Granted, I cannot confirm what their discussions are about since my Spanish is limited to 5 words, but Jordi assures me it is mostly work related. From what I have seen in the classrooms before my arrival in Spain, this would not be tolerated. I find all the talking and moving around to be disruptive and in some cases, disrespectful. Most of these students that are at this school, have been here for years and are used to it. There is also a lot of group/partner work in my classes that require communication with another student. This is different than most American schools that I have been a part of, where independent work is the majority.

Overall, I am finding this experience to be eye opening. It is amazing what these children can soak up and learn. And the vast difference in the teaching styles is crazy. I have questioned both of my teachers about the standards to which they are held to. I am wondering how they can get away with doing so many projects and group assignments and still cover all the necessary content, a frequent discussion among SKyTeach students. From what I can gather, the government does give them a curriculum to follow, but it is so broad that really anything can be taught. If I understand Jordi correctly, there are end of the year assessments that the students must take. It is the same test, "state" wide. He made it sound like it was multiple choice, but I hope to gain more information about this.

A few pictures...

This is my attempt at taking a creative picture.

I want one of these!!

Me at La Sagrada Familia

The train station at La Garriga where we catch the train to go to Barcelona.

Colonel Sanders in Barcelona!!

Look at all the motorbikes...This is their favorite way to travel.

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