Ah yes, teaching English, the thing I technically came to Spain to do. The field of education is complicated, I’m sure most would agree. It’s draining, simply. A field that will take and take and yet still give you the feeling that you haven’t really gotten anywhere. And then there’s a glimpse… of the impact you’re making, the progress being made due to your efforts, the taste of success and rewarding aspect of the job… then it’s gone again. It’s truly a job where you have to be everything: an entertainer, a nurse, a friend, a parent, a drill sergeant, a statistician. I think those in the field would agree, or perhaps I’m in the wrong field, that’s a fear I have. I still don’t know if it’s something I am well-suited for or not. It’s also a job that 80% of people quit in the first 5 years and yes they did tell me at college where I received my education degree and everything. You get progressively better in that time but you always start bad at it, things are wonky and it’s a lot. I took this job because I wanted to be a band member but not the lead singer, I’ve imagined being the lead singer but it’s hard so I wanted to be close, part of the band but not the president, title holder, lead singer.
The school I teach at is next to a larger park, sitting on a hill on top of the elementary school on the outer rim of the city. Restaurants line the main road and fancy modern condos sit on the hill next to it. It seems everywhere is residential here in Pozuelo. The school itself is rather old looking. It has 3 floors and a east and west wing on each, all hallways are a different color. Teachers move classes and students generally do not. The café is in the basement where I eat breakfast during recess/recreo/break. It’s 1.70 euro for a coffee or tea and toast with tomato or jelly/butter. There is a large courtyard of blacktop surrounded by trees where gym class is held. The school is trilingual, Spanish, French and English.
There’s enough students where I recognize 85% of faces but it still feels like waves in the hallway. I have students from ages 12 to 17. The 12 year old’s are nice, and rowdy. I think this is the best age to learn a language where they have the most interest/effort. The 15 year old’s are friendly but only when you start the conversation first. The 17 year old’s are cool, sometimes too cool. I heavily prefer pulling kids out of class for small group discussions and activities, I do this about half the time. I also do presentations. In art class I make 20 minute presentations every week about different artists. It’s interesting and I enjoy it but it is time-consuming and it is likely less beneficial hear me ramble half of class as far as language-learning goes. My process is first a deep-dive on Google. I say as much as I can (leak my opinions into the young minds) about the paintings themselves and try very hard to speak slow and simple without being condescending. But I give presentations on an abundance of topics: money, holidays, household items, extreme sports, superstitions.
My culture shock has manifested itself as some clashing with teachers, unfortunately. I wouldn’t claim to have great methods as a teacher, but I have surely my own cultivated teaching philosophies. When thinking of how I would describe the teaching style I see, the word “policing” comes to mind. This is just “the enforcement of regulations” literally but I find it to be smothering, tiresome, relentless. Also, I don’t see classroom management as part of my job. If anything relationship-building is, in my opinion, there’s a fundamental bridge between the two. I want mutual respect over order, maybe that’s teacher naivety. Twelve is a very interesting age where they know what they should do but don’t necessarily have the maturity to maintain that composure through the entire school day.
I have 16 classes a week, 16 hours, a 25 minute break, 6 different subjects and maybe 120 students. My day starts at either 9:15 or 10:20 (the kids have to be there earlier) and ends usually at 2:15 when everyone goes home for lunch. I have 3 colleagues. One is a queer French man, a left-brained guy from Michigan and a high-strung blonde Fulbright girl. I would consider us all friends, we went out for dinner once and we talk sometimes. There are a couple smartboards, one classroom full of computers but mostly just projectors. Each teacher gets a laptop. I find the technology a bit jarringly old school and I would say I feel limited by it. Printing things can be a complicated process. I’m expected to find resources which can be a little difficult without proper education field connections/networking. They have small cube lockers and custodians work throughout the day. Also due to COVID windows must be open. My boss is a lady in her 40s named Cristina from where I studied abroad, I’m not big on any form of authority so I’m not a huge fan. One of my classes is a “homeroom” where we talk about study tips, personality types and the more personal side of things. I don’t think I have a favorite class or favorite students really… I like the ones that talk to me.