I am currently on my lunch break, 2:15 - 3:30. Crazy, huh? After this, I have two more classes, till 5:10ish and then I am done for the day.
Yesterday, since we have mastered the train, we went back to Barcelona. We decided that to get the best view of the city and decide what we want to do next, we would take a double decker tour bus around the area. This was a great idea. For 23 euros, we were able to ride on a tour bus for around 3.5 hours. It showed us all the important tourist stops. Future travelers: I highly recommend this. It will give you an amazing view and let you see all of Barcelona easily instead of walking the whole thing. The best part, that we didn't utilize yesterday, was that the price included unlimited passes to get on and off the bus. At each stop along the way, we could have gotten off, walked around, etc., and then gotten back on the next bus. Another great feature was that there were 2 routes in process right now and the price got us on to both of them. So, after we finished the blue tour, we hopped another bus and visited the Mediterranean Sea coast on the red tour. To finish our trip in Barcelona, we stopped and ate gelato. Chocolate with chocolate chips...yum! Can anyone tell me the difference between gelato and ice cream. I hope it's healthier!!
Overall, this was a great and lazy day.
Yes, I took pictures! I will post a link when I get out of school. Also, I am writing a blog posting for my teacher's website (in English) describing what some of the students are doing. I will post the link to that as well, when we finish.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Successful trip to Barcelona
Good morning all!
Yesterday was our first trip to Barcelona! I had a great time. The morning started with us figuring out the train system. Because we will be traveling into Barcelona numerous times, we all bought T10 passes which is good for 5 trips, to and from, Barcelona.
We have to walk 20 minutes to La Garriga to catch the train, which is a 40-45 minute ride. There were lots of different people on the train. It was interesting. I enjoyed people watching; since the train was moving so fast, I couldn't take in a whole lot of what was going on outside.
Once we arrived at Barcelona, we all stopped to remember the pickpocketing issue, conceal our purses, and decide on a destination. We stopped at the El Corte Ingles, which was a huge Macy's type mall, with around 8 floors! There was everything from perfume, toys, clothes, furniture, electronics, and a supermarket in the basement. There was also a Christmas area that we stopped and looked at on the way back. This first time in, we went straight to the information desk to get a city map.
We used our map to get us to la Sagrada Familia. It was a huge Catholic church, designed by Antoni Gaudi. It has not been finished and they are still working on it now, with an expected time of completion around 2025. Important note to future travelers: Bring your student ID, you will get a discount. We got in for 10,50 euros without the audio and around 13,00 euros with the audio. It was a couple of euros cheaper with our IDs.
At this point, it started raining some. We left the church and headed back toward the train station in search of other sites and food. Most places have little indoor seating and rely on outdoor seating for their customers. But since it was raining, we needed seating for 6. We finally found a place and ordered. We had some kind of shaved chicken with lettuce, carrots, corn, cucumbers, etc stuffed into a pita type bread. Add to that french fries, and you have my first meal of Barcelona! Exciting stuff! It was very good!
Next, we walked to the Arc de Triomf. This is the entrance to the main Barcelona park. However, because it was raining, we decided to wait to go to the park and coast another day. Besides a lot of walking and looking, this was basically the end of our first trip into Barcelona. We headed back to the train station, grabbed the 5:11 train, and enjoyed a relaxing ride back to La Garriga.
Once in La Garriga, we hung around at a spot for a few hours and caught the first half of the Barcelona football game. They love their football! We stopped at a semi-dollar store, bought an umbrella, and walked back to the school.
Overall, had a pretty good day. Tiring, but a good day. The plan is to go back again today and take a bus top tour and check out the park. I will post a link of my pictures soon!
Adeu!
Yesterday was our first trip to Barcelona! I had a great time. The morning started with us figuring out the train system. Because we will be traveling into Barcelona numerous times, we all bought T10 passes which is good for 5 trips, to and from, Barcelona.
We have to walk 20 minutes to La Garriga to catch the train, which is a 40-45 minute ride. There were lots of different people on the train. It was interesting. I enjoyed people watching; since the train was moving so fast, I couldn't take in a whole lot of what was going on outside.
Once we arrived at Barcelona, we all stopped to remember the pickpocketing issue, conceal our purses, and decide on a destination. We stopped at the El Corte Ingles, which was a huge Macy's type mall, with around 8 floors! There was everything from perfume, toys, clothes, furniture, electronics, and a supermarket in the basement. There was also a Christmas area that we stopped and looked at on the way back. This first time in, we went straight to the information desk to get a city map.
We used our map to get us to la Sagrada Familia. It was a huge Catholic church, designed by Antoni Gaudi. It has not been finished and they are still working on it now, with an expected time of completion around 2025. Important note to future travelers: Bring your student ID, you will get a discount. We got in for 10,50 euros without the audio and around 13,00 euros with the audio. It was a couple of euros cheaper with our IDs.
At this point, it started raining some. We left the church and headed back toward the train station in search of other sites and food. Most places have little indoor seating and rely on outdoor seating for their customers. But since it was raining, we needed seating for 6. We finally found a place and ordered. We had some kind of shaved chicken with lettuce, carrots, corn, cucumbers, etc stuffed into a pita type bread. Add to that french fries, and you have my first meal of Barcelona! Exciting stuff! It was very good!
Next, we walked to the Arc de Triomf. This is the entrance to the main Barcelona park. However, because it was raining, we decided to wait to go to the park and coast another day. Besides a lot of walking and looking, this was basically the end of our first trip into Barcelona. We headed back to the train station, grabbed the 5:11 train, and enjoyed a relaxing ride back to La Garriga.
Once in La Garriga, we hung around at a spot for a few hours and caught the first half of the Barcelona football game. They love their football! We stopped at a semi-dollar store, bought an umbrella, and walked back to the school.
Overall, had a pretty good day. Tiring, but a good day. The plan is to go back again today and take a bus top tour and check out the park. I will post a link of my pictures soon!
Adeu!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
For all my education followers...
I had the last of my new classes today. I had 12-13 year olds working on presentations to give to the younger students about the upcoming food drive and the importance of giving to those less fortunate. These students were using computers to create Powerpoints and Prezis. Most teachers in BG aren't even aware of Prezi. I was amazed. And they are good presentations! So, out of the 13(I think) classes that I am in, 10 of them are working on some type of project with a presentation and written component. I have yet to see over 15 minutes of direct instruction.
The expectations of these students are different (what seems higher to me) than those I have experienced as a student and what I have observed in classroom. Overall, their ability to use computers is unbelievable. They are doing things that college students have trouble with. They are able to correctly and accurately use Excel. I can think of at least 10 students in my Research Methods class that couldn't use Excel. These students are able to find data on the internet, import it into Excel, and make bar/line charts with a double axis, WITHOUT HELP! I will brag that my Excel skills are being tested because I can't read the commands on the toolbar, so I am having to go completely off memory and what looks close. And I am okay with saying that I have been successful at every question asked of me. LOL
Granted, they have the resources that most schools in the US don't have. They have many mobile labs that the teachers will just wheel into the rooms. They have problems with the battery life but the computers are good dell laptops with up to date software. Most students have their own laptops, flashdrives that they carry around, iPads, etc. It makes me wonder what would be possible if our students had these resources. And let's not forget that these students are the best of the best and they are paying a lot of money to be at this private school. Nearly all will go on to achieve college degrees.
Interesting fact: Most teachers do not count tardies. If a child is late, so what. It is not seen as a big deal.
The expectations of these students are different (what seems higher to me) than those I have experienced as a student and what I have observed in classroom. Overall, their ability to use computers is unbelievable. They are doing things that college students have trouble with. They are able to correctly and accurately use Excel. I can think of at least 10 students in my Research Methods class that couldn't use Excel. These students are able to find data on the internet, import it into Excel, and make bar/line charts with a double axis, WITHOUT HELP! I will brag that my Excel skills are being tested because I can't read the commands on the toolbar, so I am having to go completely off memory and what looks close. And I am okay with saying that I have been successful at every question asked of me. LOL
Granted, they have the resources that most schools in the US don't have. They have many mobile labs that the teachers will just wheel into the rooms. They have problems with the battery life but the computers are good dell laptops with up to date software. Most students have their own laptops, flashdrives that they carry around, iPads, etc. It makes me wonder what would be possible if our students had these resources. And let's not forget that these students are the best of the best and they are paying a lot of money to be at this private school. Nearly all will go on to achieve college degrees.
Interesting fact: Most teachers do not count tardies. If a child is late, so what. It is not seen as a big deal.
My First Spanish Robot
As promised, here is a picture of my first Spanish robot. I think I will call him Alex. Next week, I will program Alex to follow a black line around a track. He is so excited!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Another First
Hello all!
Let's start with a little about the school. It has kids from 3 to 18. It is divided into several levels including infant, primary, secondary, and baccalaureate prep. In Spain, kids only have to go to school till 16. At that point, they can either start baccalaureate prep classes or get a job. Baccalaureate prep classes are supposed to get students ready for uni (college) which the majority of these students will do. Secondary is split into 4 levels, and starts at around 12 or 13 years old. Tuition here is 600-700 euros....a month, which is about 800-950 US dollars. To me, this seems like a lot. Apparently, the students that go here are wealthy and have no problem with that. Most get mini coopers or Ferraris when they start driving.
Today was the first day in the classroom. I got to meet all the kids. I was actually surprised to learn that I will be assisting two teachers! The first one is Gordi, who does all the computer/technology stuff. The second is Jesus (prounced Hay-Seuss (like Dr. Suess)). With Gordi, I am helping with 3 upper level robotics classes. I am really excited about this class. They are using Lego Mindstorms kits including the software to design and build stuff. Kids were designing elevators, motorcycles, bridges, trains, etc. They will start building next week. Gordi let me take a kit with me so I can start practicing and help them next week. I have already built a robot! Picture to come.Then, he also has 3 low level secondary geometry classes. His utilization of the internet resources is amazing. I am really excited for what I can pick up and use when I get back. And finally he has 2 other upper secondary classes that didn't meet today.
So there are 7 hours (or periods) throughout the day. During the majority of Gordi's free(planning) periods, I go and assist Jesus. Here's the kicker, he teachers history and geography to 12 year olds. I was nervous about the history part, and the geography part, and well, the 12 year old part too! But they are really cool kids. They asked me a lot of questions about myself and about the US. They are doing oral presentations next week over a country of their choosing. I am excited to listen to them. I am hoping that I can video a few of them. One group is doing their presentation over the US.
Interesting fact...they don't address their teachers by Ms. Jones or Mr. Smith. They call them by their first names. I was called Tammi or Ms. Tammi.
Toodles!
Let's start with a little about the school. It has kids from 3 to 18. It is divided into several levels including infant, primary, secondary, and baccalaureate prep. In Spain, kids only have to go to school till 16. At that point, they can either start baccalaureate prep classes or get a job. Baccalaureate prep classes are supposed to get students ready for uni (college) which the majority of these students will do. Secondary is split into 4 levels, and starts at around 12 or 13 years old. Tuition here is 600-700 euros....a month, which is about 800-950 US dollars. To me, this seems like a lot. Apparently, the students that go here are wealthy and have no problem with that. Most get mini coopers or Ferraris when they start driving.
Today was the first day in the classroom. I got to meet all the kids. I was actually surprised to learn that I will be assisting two teachers! The first one is Gordi, who does all the computer/technology stuff. The second is Jesus (prounced Hay-Seuss (like Dr. Suess)). With Gordi, I am helping with 3 upper level robotics classes. I am really excited about this class. They are using Lego Mindstorms kits including the software to design and build stuff. Kids were designing elevators, motorcycles, bridges, trains, etc. They will start building next week. Gordi let me take a kit with me so I can start practicing and help them next week. I have already built a robot! Picture to come.Then, he also has 3 low level secondary geometry classes. His utilization of the internet resources is amazing. I am really excited for what I can pick up and use when I get back. And finally he has 2 other upper secondary classes that didn't meet today.
So there are 7 hours (or periods) throughout the day. During the majority of Gordi's free(planning) periods, I go and assist Jesus. Here's the kicker, he teachers history and geography to 12 year olds. I was nervous about the history part, and the geography part, and well, the 12 year old part too! But they are really cool kids. They asked me a lot of questions about myself and about the US. They are doing oral presentations next week over a country of their choosing. I am excited to listen to them. I am hoping that I can video a few of them. One group is doing their presentation over the US.
Interesting fact...they don't address their teachers by Ms. Jones or Mr. Smith. They call them by their first names. I was called Tammi or Ms. Tammi.
Toodles!
First Day
Today was a very long day. We were picked up at the airport around 7 AM local time. We were then taken to SEK Catalunya, our school for the next 4 weeks. We were given a short orientation about the school, getting around on the trains, and what to expect. We were served a light snack consisting of a small sandwich and cookie with coffee or hot tea. Then, we took our bags to our room. There are 4 girls in one building over the secondary school and 4 girls (including me) over the primary school. We dropped our bags off and then went to the town of La Garriga. That is where we will do our quick trips for supplies, dinner, etc. at night. We walked around a bit and saw what they had to offer.
Then, we came back, rested for a little while and went to eat lunch at 2:30. Lunch consisted of a noodle soup (all that I ate), sausage, mashed potatoes (kinda), cabbage and apple salad, fruit, bread, and water. It was an interesting experience. Then, we went on a tour of the school and met our mentor teachers. All seemed nice. We have to meet them at 9:30 the next morning.
Finally, it was time to go back to our rooms for rest. We all crashed for a few hours till we had to meet another group of students from the UK and have sweet bread and champagne. They had all been here a while and were used to how the school was. We all asked each other questions till around 9:30 when we all left to go to bed for the first real time in what seemed like days.
Have a good day!
Then, we came back, rested for a little while and went to eat lunch at 2:30. Lunch consisted of a noodle soup (all that I ate), sausage, mashed potatoes (kinda), cabbage and apple salad, fruit, bread, and water. It was an interesting experience. Then, we went on a tour of the school and met our mentor teachers. All seemed nice. We have to meet them at 9:30 the next morning.
Finally, it was time to go back to our rooms for rest. We all crashed for a few hours till we had to meet another group of students from the UK and have sweet bread and champagne. They had all been here a while and were used to how the school was. We all asked each other questions till around 9:30 when we all left to go to bed for the first real time in what seemed like days.
Have a good day!
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