Adios Amigos

And so our journey comes to an end. This past weekend my friend, Carolina and I went to the beautiful city of Rome, Italy. The city was absolutely beautiful and while there, we visited many historical places and ate some of the best food! Places visited include, The Colosseum, The Roman Forum, The Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, Arch of Constantine, Arch of Septimius Severus, and the Pantheon. We tried a variety of pasta and pizza and let me just say, America needs to step it up!

With the ending of our weekend adventures also comes a bittersweet ending to our time at RMSI, here in Barcelona. Throughout my time here in Barcelona I have learned a lot about the culture and education system. More than anything, I have become so extremely grateful for the opportunities and educational systems found within America. During my time in the school, I felt as though there were many times when us Americans were “in the way” throughout the school. While our cooperating teachers were helpful and welcoming, the overall schooling experience wasn’t the best. At times, it felt as though the teachers assumed they were better than us, yet struggled to maintain a classroom where learning could take place. I have discovered through these experiences that cultures, most definitely, interfere or contribute to the overall success within the classroom.

Aside from the negatives, I have learned what it's like to truly care about your students and how to show them your heart. My cooperating teacher at RMSI does a great job at truly kindling a relationship and conversation with each and every student in his class throughout the day. Through classroom ribbons for those doing good things to hugs on the playground, Mr. Rodd continues to create an environment in which every student feels valued, wanted and successful. I believe that this is an absolute necessity to any educational setting. More than anything, this experience has reinforced the vital need for human connection in the schools and in life.

In addition to the vitality of human connection, I believe that RMSI did a great job with incorporating curriculum throughout the school environment. Through visuals across multiple content areas, the students are able to review content and see math problems, music vocabulary, etc. throughout the school day. I believe that this would be something interesting to bring into the American schools that have not already implemented the content throughout the school. I have also gained a huge amount of respect for ESL students and the difficulties that they face while in America and in the classroom. After experiencing what it’s like to be in a classroom in which you cannot understand anything being discussed, I can truly feel for my future students who may be derived from their native language.

Undoubtedly, I have thoroughly enjoyed getting the opportunity to explore the city of Barcelona visiting famous areas such as Park Guell, Sagrada de Familia, La Rambla, the Gothic Quarters, and St. Josep La Boqueria, along with numerous restaurants and pastry shops across the city. In other words, the metro has been our best friend! In addition to the sites in Barcelona, I have enjoyed getting the opportunity to explore the culture and the habits and customs that surround it. My host family has been absolutely amazing and I am genuinely going to miss seeing the children each morning and night. Their smiles truly make each day better and I wish nothing but the best for them as they continue in their education and lives.

 

I most definitely believe that the things learned within the school, the experience with teaching English as a second language and the overall cultural engagement will help to my advantage in my future classroom. The world is such a large and interesting place. By bringing the world into the classroom, we are opening up a whole new set of possibilities and customs for our students to explore. Granting any child that opportunity is vital in the full discovery of oneself, global and human connections within society. My time in Barcelona has been an interesting one; however, I am forever grateful for the opportunities that WKU continues to present its students and the world in which we inhabit.

This chapter is finished, it is now time to begin a new one. Graduation is at the end of this week and I cannot believe my time at WKU is coming to a close. Kentucky, I’m coming home!

My second grade class at RMSI

Education: America vs. Spain

Here’s to the completion of the second week here in Barcelona! Over the past weekend, my friend and I traveled to Paris, France for a quick get away. If anyone knows me, they know that Paris was 100% at the top of my “Must do” list of travel destinations. Without a doubt, it did not disappoint.

 

 

 

Throughout the weekend we visited: the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Musee D'orsay, Champs-Elysees, Palace of Versailles, Place de la Concorde, Galeries Lafayette, Palais de Chaillot, and Notre Dame. Our two days were jam packed and full of excitement! Not to mention we ate MANY crepes!

Following our busy weekend, we began our second week of classes at RMSI. This week has been very interesting and I have had the opportunity to become very involved within the classroom. During this week, I taught a lesson about the USA and, more specifically, the state of Kentucky. While this was very interesting to teach the students, it was far different than the typical classroom that you would find. In addition to this lesson, I continue to help English in the English and Science classroom along with helping secondary students one-on-one to prepare for the Cambridge exam in English.

It seems as though within America, we expect much more from our students than here in Spain. I say this in regards to respect from students, classroom expectations and implementation, curriculum pacing and retention. Within a typical classroom in Spain you will find students running around, throwing each other to the ground, screaming across the room, yelling “no” to the teacher, fighting over pencils, making no attempt to make a functional line yet one calm teacher still remains.

From someone who strives to put classroom management at the top of my list of “must haves” within in a classroom, it is extremely difficult for me to watch every lesson suffer due to a lack of respect from the students within the classroom. Although a part of spanish culture, there is not excuse for deliberately acting out in numerous situations.

Aside from classroom management, the students learn a variety of curriculum which includes Catalan, Spanish, English, Swimming, Art, Math, Science, Gym, and more! I find it very interesting the amount of extra curricular activities that are offered throughout the school. As previously mentioned, RMSI is a semi-private catholic school which includes grades Pre K-12th grade. These grades are then subdivided into male and female classrooms for the primary level and then mixed gender for secondary.

The teachers move about the school to teach a variety of kids, as opposed to having a set classroom of their own. In addition, when a teacher is absent, it is the other teachers responsibility to “substitute” their classroom during their planning. There is no substitution system implemented within the catholic education system.

The schedule varies depending on the day of the week. Within the schedule is one 30 minute “playground” period and a one and a half hour lunch break. School, unlike America, runs from 9am-4:45pm. Although the day is longer than the traditional school in America, it does not seem terribly long as there is a long lunch break within the middle of the day.

I look forward to continue learning about the education system and exploring the city of Barcelona and this weekend, Rome, Italy!

Until next time!

A Great First Impression

Off to Barcelona, Spain from Nashville Airport!

I’ve arrived! Two days ago I arrived in Barcelona, Spain! The city is absolutely beautiful and my host family is everything that I could have asked for. Upon arriving in the city, I was immediately experiencing major culture shock. 

Everything here in Spain is far different than that in America. Everything is very loud and sometimes rather hectic. People often eat seafood as their main course for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (I am not a fan of seafood) And while the schools are very welcoming, they are also very different than the typical American school that I have previously been exposed to. School lunches are an hour and a half long, it ends later in the afternoon, AND the teachers travel around the school to the students without having their own “classroom.”

Me in front of my new school, Colegio Real Monasterio de Santa Isabel

The community is very friendly and safe. Everything is within close distance and easily accessible for all of us. In fact, the school is a short fifteen minute walk from my host family´s flat (or apartment). It is so interesting to see the varying architecture that surrounds the city and school. I cannot wait to begin exploring more around the city of Barcelona and beyond. On the day of our arrival, it was a special day here, St. George's Day! Similar to Valentine's Day in America, this holiday is a special day when kids are out of typical class and men buy roses for women and in return, the women buy books for the men. As a welcome present, my host family purchased a book for me which showed the beautiful city of Barcelona!

My bedroom for my stay in Barcelona

The living room of my host family's flat

                                        

My host family got a book of the city for St. George's Day!

St. George's Day booths were everywhere on the streets of Spain

                                   
In regards to my first impressions of the school environment, everything is extremely loud and somewhat out of control; however, this is apparently a part of their culture. I am interested to discover the ways in which the classroom continues to operate throughout the week, as they do not have a set daily schedule. Instead, each class has a different schedule everyday, that then repeats the following week. The students are split boys and girls and the school is HUGE! 

Within the school is a work out facility, swimming pool, multiple basketball courts, footbul area (patio), a chapel, auditorium, a courtyard, numerous classrooms, and administrative office spaces. When we were shown the athletic facilities I was completely blown away!

School Gym

Workout facility

Patio Area (footbol field)

Swimming pool

Courtyard area

School

As a semi-private catholic school, instruction is offered for grades Pre K-12 grade, very different from that of your traditional elementary, middle and high schools in America. With that being said, I am currently student teaching within a second grade male classroom. Which leads into something rather interesting. The teacher that I am currently student teaching, Mr. Rodd, completed a teaching position in Nicholasville, Kentucky, at a school which is right beside my house.

It truly is crazy to see how extremely small the world truly is. I think it is absolutely amazing that I am getting the opportunity to work alongside someone who understands where I come from and the difficult transition that can come with teaching in American schools, versus those here in Spain.

I look forward to the amazing experiences that are to come through teaching here in Spain. I cannot wait to share my journey with you along the way. Now off to Paris, France for the weekend, until next time!

P.S. I have attached some pictures of some AMAZING sweets that I have completed eaten too much of... enjoy!

WKU Barcelona Student Teachers; Spring 2019

The Journey Begins...

Hello! In just a few short days, I will begin the adventure of a lifetime. Upon beginning my academic career at Western Kentucky University, I dreamed about the day when I would get the opportunity to travel abroad during my student teaching semester. Luckily, that time has come. Soon, I will be traveling abroad to student teach at Colegio Real Monasterio de Santa Isabel in Barcelona, Spain. I am so ecstatic for the opportunities that I will be able to take part in during my time abroad.

Through this trip abroad I am hoping to gain experience with teaching English as a second language in an international classroom. I cannot wait to see the ways in which education values, techniques and curriculum changes across a variety of areas and countries. I am a firm believer in education equity and will always search for ways to further my understanding of every whole child and I believe that this is a great way to start! I cannot wait to begin my journey and believe that this will be an amazing, once in a lifetime, opportunity. I look forward to sharing my journey with you and the adventures that I choose to take.