When it comes to endings, to saying good bye, it’s so cliche but the term bitter sweet does seem appropriate. Today was some how my last day of classes. My younger students showered me with gifts and kisses and I practically had to peal myself away, while the older ones (something strange happens between the ages of 12-14) hardly seemed to acknowledge I was leaving. The bitter is that I felt I spent more time disciplining students than actually teaching them. Bitter because I don’t think I did a very good job, although I’ve realized that there are a lot of factors that contributed to this that were out of my control. Bitter because after seven months, I feel my students still have no idea who I am. It was sweet though that they honestly seemed sad to see me go. Somewhere amidst my stern reprimands and botched activities, they hopefully saw my intent; although I also recognize that by dedicating themselves to celebrating my departure, they were getting out of working. The excitement of future plans is also sweet. If anything, this year has helped to focus my perspective and goals.
Very few, lucky people are born knowing what they want to do. Most figure it out along the way though. But how does one go about making such a dedicated decision? How does one come to be a teacher, a nurse, a computer programmer? Perhaps it was a class I’d neglected to take in college, but I feel like I've been wandering through the fog for years now only to stumble upon a clue now and again. In Spanish the question, “What do you do for a living?” is “To what do you dedicate yourself?” and I find that this more accurately reflects today's society that I find myself participating in. I didn't declare my Spanish major until I had completed it. I've never been one to do things the easy way, as Sandra would say, “you're just doing it the 'cowboy' way”. Being here has made me reevaluate my goals. I went into teaching because it was a logical step. I wanted something to accompany my Spanish major that would allow me to travel.
I remember Roberta from the writing center saying that it was important to tell writers what parts of their papers were good, not only to boost their confidence, but so that they would know what to keep and build off of. Recently, in the midst of my existential crisis, my friend Emily gave me some great advice, she said, “Just go with your gut. Often we try to talk ourselves in or out of things and forget to listen to our intuition.” I began to think about this and I realized that I often make decisions this way, but for some reason or another, I'd gotten out of touch with my gut. I came here with the objective of improving my Spanish and I knew that that would take more than 8 months, so I was prepared to stay a minimum of 2 years. I was so intent on that goal that I started to get tunnel vision. I didn't ask myself, “Why is this so important to me?” It was just something I had to do. I was comparing my abilities to what I thought they should be in relation to everyone else, always a dangerous path. I lost touch with what I enjoyed about language learning. It just became this beast I had to conquer and the more I fought it the more I resisted. I became miserable. The prospect of staying another year utterly depressed me. The more I investigated my employment options, the more trapped I felt. I would be confined to teaching children, working illegally and even if I landed a decent job I enjoyed, I'd probably get paid very little. Basically, the only reason I'd be staying would be to improve my Spanish and that had been my goal for so long that I couldn't see any other possibilities.
So I decided to follow Emily’s advice and change the way I thought about choosing a career path. I thought about not choosing a profession, not choosing a career but just looking at my natural abilities and finding something that is compatible with them. Once I made that shift, where there had been few possibilities, suddenly things started sprouting up. I realized I really don’t enjoy teaching children; excellent, so I’ve found I can cross that one off the list. I began to think of the things I'm naturally good at and what I enjoy. When I look at the assortment of jobs I’ve had over the years, I am able to recognized a pattern of the things I like and do well. Among my varied resume my favorite jobs have been working at the writing center and teaching adult ESL. I am an extreme global thinker, meaning my mind needs the big picture in order to understand the pieces (perhaps that explains why I was terrible at math. I’m convinced that if they’d taught math theory sophomore year instead of geometry I would have had a much more successful math experience). Anyways, I get really excited when I can connect theory to practice and then turn around and communicate that. I like working with people and I think I’m good at it because I can see the bigger pictures but also have empathy for the individuals point of view, something which is not easy to do. And the communication that happens to connect the two is what I find fascinating. That’s why I loved working at the writing center because it is so idea based, and for me the most exciting part of teaching is planning a lesson based on theory and then executing. Of course language fits into that idea well because apart from communicating, it’s dealing with patterns that fit together to create something intangible yet vital.
Well, it’s all very exciting for me to realize after 25 years how my own mind works and what I’m good at, but how does that translate to a career? Perhaps it is being in a classroom but I really got the yearning to go back to school. Excellent, so now I know that I want to go back to school, I’m looking for something that involves global thinking, proactive communication, languages, and lets not forget creativity. After spending time in a warm climate I realized that my ancestors must have been from the Sahara. I do love the heat, but I also found that, perhaps, small town living isn’t for me. And then I remembered, what about that international grad school in Monterey California that I’d considered? When I’d looked into it a year ago I thought I was interested in getting a masters in international education or ESL; however, there was another school in Vermont that was more specialized in that field so I forgot about CA. But once I shifted my sights off teaching, I discovered that Monterey actually has more things I’m interested in, and it’s in a better location. It offers four distinct programs: interpretation\translation, international policy, international education and ESL, and international business.
Language majors have pretty much two main paths to choose from, teaching and business. I went into teaching because of my prejudices towards math and the cooperate, “Donald Trump” attitude towards business. Teaching has been excellent and I’ve gained a number of skills, but I’m ready for a new challenge and Monterey’s responsible, conscientious approach to international business may be just the match for my skills (ok I’m starting to sound like I’m writing my application essay). Having made that decision, I am able to breath a huge sigh of relief. Of course by the time I had figured all this out I had missed the application dead line, but this gives me plenty of time to work out the details. Unfortunately, the school is extremely expensive and I’m extremely poor so I’ve decided to move to CA for the coming year so that I am eligible for additional scholarships. Sweet! I won’t be stuck working illegally for chicken scratch in Spain! I feel like an archaeologist, but instead of uncovering clues to the past, I’ve made a major discovery in terms of my future.
Now all I’ve got to do is focus on relaxing and being on vacation. My parents are coming in a few days and I’m really excited to share my life here with them. Dad and I are going to road trip to Portugal! On the 20th of June we’re heading to Germany to visit family friends and then I’ll spend 6 weeks working on learning French! So in the end, I think this transition is more sweet than bitter and I find myself coming full circle seeing as how, once again, I’ve got to sell my car! Gabriel García Márquez would have something to say about that...
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Agua Amargas
One thing I love about Spain is the caves. There is something so primitive about them yet they endure for hundreds of years. These ones are from prehistoric times, the most interesting feature is the carved in furniture, shelves, and cubby holes. Enjoy the photos!
A List for San Juan
The 23rd of June is Saint John’s Day (el día de San Juan); yet surprisingly, it has more Pagan roots than Christian and corresponds with the summer solstice. Apparently, the beaches fill with people and bonfires. The tradition is to write all your negative thoughts on a piece of paper and to burn them in the fire which is then followed by jumping over it. Other versions of the rituals include collecting the ashes and putting them in a vase with a specific type of flower. Having gone through a rough couple of months, I’ve decided to start my list ahead of time.
If I fell in love with Spain the first time, well I’m now ready to file for divorce. Why this drastic change of heart? Working and living in a country is an entirely different experience than studying abroad and living in the shelter of a host family. I have been exposed to the much uglier, yet more realistic side of Spain. Is it any better or worse than the U.S.? I really can’t say, but I have definitely become disillusioned. In the beginning, things would happen at work or at home and I’d be bothered by them but couldn't’t really attribute it to anything, except perhaps bad luck. But after awhile, when the same types of things kept occurring, I realized that what I was experiencing had more to do with larger social and cultural patterns than my own fortune. As I began to see my mishaps as a whole, this is what I came up with:
Category I: The Educational System
Just as health care is crippled in the United States, the education system here is struggling to pull itself forward, but due to structural and social instabilities, its threatening to topple and any point. I shall start with the structural failures.
The life of a civil servant: In an attempt to avoid the unequal distribution of teachers, resources and skills, and to assure a job to all teachers, Spain’s solution is this: teachers are given positions based on a lottery/point system. Basically, it’s a genuine three ring circus, complete with juggling, flaming rings, monkeys and ferocious lions.
Flaming Hoop Numero Uno: Graduate from the university with a bachelor’s degree.
Flaming Hoop Numero Dos: Complete a Pedagogical Aptitude Course that covers basic educational theory, followed by a short practicum.
Lion, Tigers and Bears “Oh My”: Los Oposiciones. This is the mother of all exams that is comprised of three parts. This is an exam that tests your knowledge of the subject you teach. HOWEVER, due the high number of applicants and competition, the tests are outrageously difficult!!! To give you an idea, the level of knowledge required is equivalent to that of a university professor in the U.S. (although here, they will never teach the majority of the material they are tested on). For example, if your especiality is history (albeit contemporary, prehistory, medieval…) you are tested on ALL history; that’s to say the entire world’s history and I’m not exaggerating. There are 71 themes related to each subject and a lottery determines which of the 71 you will be tested on; therefore you must study them all. People spend months, even years studying for the Oppositions. It is normal to fail, a matter of luck if you pass and common to take it multiple times.
The Monkeys; Step Four: If you haven’t passed the Oppositions that doesn’t mean you can’t teach (if this were the case there would be hardly any teachers) it just means that you are a temporary or “substitute” teacher. Here’s where the show just begins and the point system comes into play. As a temporary teacher you can be sent to anywhere within the community (equivalent to a state). So imagine that you have your house and family in Seattle; well, whether you like it or not, you get sent to Walla Walla for one, two years or an indefinite amount of time. If you reject the offer you get bumped to the bottom of the list and might end up unemployed. It doesn’t matter if your mother is being treated for breast cancer or your wife is pregnant (real situations of some I know).
Juggling: Passing the Oppositions isn't the only thing that determines your value. One can also receive points based on service time, if you’ve taken extra training courses, have a doctorate or any publications. All these things can earn you points which will eventually factor into your final placement. Then based on your points and the exams, you are then assigned a permanent position, although there is still little one can do to influence where that final destination may be. I have a friend who passed her exams a few years back and still hasn’t received her permanent placement.
Would you do all this for a steady, permanent job? The Repercussions: As you can imagine, this system, although quite entertaining, causes a ripple effects:
i. The teachers are far from their homes and families and generally unhappy.
ii. Who knows where they will be next year so why invest in the development of future programs? Why rock the boat and stick up for injustices? Why try to better your community and establish nurturing relationships with your students?
iii. Due to the extremely brief practicum, most teachers are given very little instruction on actually how to teach and are basically thrown to the wolves.
iv. They are not hired they are sent somewhere like soldiers so there is not much alliance amongst the teachers nor are they their based on their merit nor ability to actually teach.
v. If one is studying for the all consuming Oppositions, that is their priority, and they lesson planning (although basically non existent to begin with) is reduced to nothing and the quality of the classes suffers.
vi. Basically, every year is like starting with a new staff with the exception of a few people. For those few who remain it means they must carry the weight of keeping any existing programs or projects alive. They have much more responsibility but are not compensated and rarely recognized for it and continuously have to incorporate and train new staff. While those who are there temporarily have to adapt to each institution with its hierarchy of directors and ways of doing things.
The Time Warp:
The School: Unfortunately, the school I'm at is long overdue for a remodel and has a striking resemblance to a juvenile detention center. There is supposedly a library, but it is locked, as is the one shelf with the books. The books themselves are from the century before Christ and the majority lost their covers somewhere back in the Middle ages.
Technology: They decided to enter the twenty-first century a few years back and got computers in many of the classrooms, yet most of the students still don't know how to type.
Methodology: Most of the teaching strategies are still centered around reading text, translating it and answering questions. There is little interaction with the information and the thought of catering to different learning styles is unheard of.
“Spain is just a bit slow”: Failure to recognize different learning styles is less surprising than the fact that they are completely blind to learning disabilities. A child with A.D.H.D. is called “nervous” where as a slightly autistic one just has “problems”. I'll be the first to admit that the U.S. goes a bit overboard with these labels, but naming them is the first step to helping a child. I can really identify with the frustration I see many of the students going through. Here is a prime example of how old school ways of thinking don't meet new school needs.
One of those most pressing needs is accommodations for immigrant students. More and more students who don’t speak Spanish as their firs language are entering the school and no one is prepared for the additional resources required. There are students who come from Africa who may never have learned to use the Roman alphabet nor even to read and they are just thrown in to a class. There is “language support” but it only lasts a few months at the most and must be recommend by the teachers. Of course, when one sets up a student for failure, one is really setting up the entire system to fail. Maybe it’s still too soon to see the repercussions, but what will eventually happen is that those students who are forgotten about and left to drowned academically will develop a sense of resentment which will eventually fuel greater problems.
No Frills Added: Whether for lack of resources or imagination, there are no school sports, no clubs, no band, no drama, nothing extracurricular here. On the bright side, that makes for less clicks, but it also makes for less opportunities in general for students to develop their character.
No discipline = Lord of the Flies: There is absolutely no established disciplinary system here. Meaning, when a student is acting up, there is no “study hall”, no talking to the principle, no visit to the school counselor (they don’t exist), no Saturday work, nothing. The reason being that the teachers are considered “responsible” for maintaining control in the classroom. Perhaps this logic worked in the past, but now with larger class sizes and a more complex student body, putting all the responsibility on the teacher is not only unrealistic, it’s setting the stage for a bigger problems down the road. The only solution they have for bad behavior is to send a note home to the parents which as we are now discovering, most of the students forge any ways. Aside from the informative parent notes the teachers can give “partes”. Students can receive up to 3 partes before they are expelled. But you know, “so and so really is a good kid” and the teachers don’t want to be the cause of a student being expelled. So basically, there are no consequences for bad behavior.
It wasn’t until recently when I couldn’t hold it in any longer and let loose at the teacher’s meeting (I just happened to be using a computer in the room and didn’t realize it was a meeting, classic Lauril) that I expressed my utter surprise and disgust at how the students acted in class; I told them that what I was observing was NOT normal. They came up with a set of very clear rules and consequences and shared them with the students. Things went great for about a week and then teachers and students slipped back into their old ways. In the words of Sebastian the crab from The Little Mermaid “Teenagers, you give them an inch and they’ll walk all over you.” According to Caesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer) success is achieved by giving: A) Exercise B) Discipline and then C) Affection. In this case I’d have to agree (exercise may being mental in the classroom setting of course). If I learned anything from horse riding it is that consistency is a must. If you talk the talk you’d better walk the walk, practice what you preach... the clinches could go on. It’s obvious that if the teachers just set up a system to support discipline and then followed through with their threats, things would drastically change. But alas, here’s where I get to the sweeping generalizations about Spaniards that I’ve developed throughout my experience which may explain how the situation got to where it is.
Spanish children are EXTREMELY SPOILED!!!! Everyone agrees that in that in the past 15 years things have changed drastically but no one can exactly say why. Some attribute it to technology saying that with with MSN, cell phones and such, it’s easier for children to entertain themselves and parents have less and less control. However, I’ve witnessed parents give into their children’s demands time and time again, coddle them and re enforce bad behavior. In my opinion, a temper tantrum should never be rewarded and a seven year old should not still be drinking from a bottle, but maybe that’s just me.
Along with being spoiled, the children have absolutely no work ethic. The truth is that learning a language is work; although I try to make it as fun as possible, one can not learn without working. But the second they have to make any mental effort they simply shut down. There is no curiosity for learning. They don’t have after school sport nor clubs, although some play on private teams, this means that they are not learning how to work from the “normal” sources. They have very minimal house hold chores and as stated before the sense of consequence is very slight. If you wonder what happens when children with a relaxed work ethic grow up, continue reading.
Category II: “I Can’t Function Without My Siesta,” Results of a Relaxed Work Ethic
Public transportation leaves much to be desired. The buses normally run late or sometimes just don’t come at all.
I have 9 euros and 44 cents in my bank account and I was supposed to be paid 6 days ago!! No one seems to be too concerned about it but me.
Plan your meals ahead on the weekends because everything will be closed on Sundays.
If you want anything at a restaurant, be ready to shout it out, the waiter will not come otherwise.
Libraries (if you can call them that) aren’t even open on the weekends. The librarian just upped and quit, so now it’s closed.
I’m still waiting on a couple of letters. The mail carrier likes to wait to deliver until a pile accumulates so I tend to get everything all at once.
The highways are strewn with road kill; yet under closer examination, the Spanish road kill greatly differs that of WA. In Olympia, one will typically run across (pun intended) deer, raccoon, Opossum and the occasional unfortunate porcupine. Here the highway victims are almost exclusively made up of dogs and cats (with the occasional fox thrown in which we always joke about saying “well, there goes the last fox in Spain”). The reason being is that, in most cases, according to the Spanish mentality, a “pet” is more animal than member of the family. An animal’s job is to be an animal and an important part of that is to breed. Spaying and neutering is seen as barbaric, it’s basically taking away the animals purpose to live (plus, it would be a petty matter to spend money on). As a result there is an over abundance of stray cats and dogs, many of which meet their end in the glare of headlights.
There is garbage everywhere. Again, I can expect this from a country with less resources but Spain is supposed to be “modern” and “developed”. Recycling has just come to this country, but there is still quite a bit of confusion as to how this works (apparently Styrofoam is recyclable). In the 1970s Almería (my province) decided to boost its economy by putting a number of greenhouses up (what else is one going to do with all that wide open desert?). It worked wonderfully, where there was nothing before, Almería has now become Spain’s bread basket. These stretches of greenhouses are known as the “sea of plastic”; however, once they are no longer in use, they are left abandoned and the wind carries off the plastic, choking up the rivers and tangling in the cacti.
Category 3: The Racism
With the opening of the EU has come a flood of immigration from many eastern European countries, especially Romania. There is also a work visa agreement with many Latin American countries so large numbers have emigrated from Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina… Of course many Africans also undertake extremely dangerous journeys to make it to Europe. In addition, there is the “British Invasion” consisting of all the Brits who buy up the coast and move to Sunny Spain. All this immigration has happened within a relatively short time period, about the last 10 years, and the Spaniards who were under a nationalistic dictatorship for so many years aren’t exactly sure how to react. Of course nationalism is based on exclusion not inclusion, and although the dictatorship ended over more than 30 years ago, many people aren’t as quick to update their world views. To give an example all Asian people are known as “Chinese” or more commonly and socially acceptably “pigs”. All Africans are known as “Blacks” and all whites are “Giris”. The director of my school is of the old way of thinking and has openly, in public settings, blamed problems on the immigrant students and made racist comments. In addition, today they still celebrated a holiday called “The Moors and the Christians” where they rein act the conquering of the Moors; this would be similar to dedicating a day to “The Cowboys and the Indians”. Once again, I’m not saying that these problems don’t exist in the States, but it’s more commonly recognized what is politically correct and what isn’t.
Minor Grievances:
a. Bad dental hygiene is common and socially acceptable. The mixture of coffee, cigarettes, ham and infrequent brushing makes for some pretty putrid bad breath at times. Luckily, things are changing and most kids go at most once a year to the dentist. There are just certain people I have to talk to in well ventilated areas.
b. Speaking of hygiene, I feel pleasantly surprised when there is hand soap in a bathroom! Toilet seats are nice as well, but not always to be expected. And I find that if you leave food out, it just lasts much longer than in the States, how curious…
c. The cigarette smoke has honestly gotten better since I was here 5 years ago, but I still miss smoke free cafes, bars, bus stations, everything. Although many facilities have converted to non smoking, it is common to see a non smoking announcement and someone smoking just below it.
d. You can’t drink the water here, I would expect this of Nicaragua, but honestly, even if you wanted to the water tastes so terrible here. It is filled with lime scale, so much that my hair has turned brittle and dry. Joanna’s water heater broke after only a year and when opened up they found actual stones. Luckily, I found a public fountain in the next village over and I’ve taken to filling my water jugs there (I feel so authentic). But isn’t drinkable, free water high up on the list of basic human rights?
Well San Juan, more or less that’s what I’ve got. I think there really is something to this, it is a relief getting this all out, now I just can’t wait to burn it! Was I completely naive before? Or am I completely jaded now? Is the U.S. any better off? Maybe our history of confronting the challenges of education and immigration is longer, but aside from our extensive politically correct vocabulary, are we any closer to equality and social responsibility? What do you think?
It wouldn’t be fair to finish this without at least mentioning at least a few things that I still appreciate about Spain:
1. Tapas!!!
2. Fanta Limon
3. Ice cream
4. Fresh fruits and veggies from the market (yes, I am aware that my first three items on the list are food)
5. The beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6. Having so much history all around
7. The marble promenade (the biggest marble exporting company is near by so there’s lots of marble all over the place)
8. The people are always willing to help if you need anything.
9. Siesta
10. A more relaxed pace of life
11. Cheap shoes
12. Lot of Catholic holidays
If I fell in love with Spain the first time, well I’m now ready to file for divorce. Why this drastic change of heart? Working and living in a country is an entirely different experience than studying abroad and living in the shelter of a host family. I have been exposed to the much uglier, yet more realistic side of Spain. Is it any better or worse than the U.S.? I really can’t say, but I have definitely become disillusioned. In the beginning, things would happen at work or at home and I’d be bothered by them but couldn't’t really attribute it to anything, except perhaps bad luck. But after awhile, when the same types of things kept occurring, I realized that what I was experiencing had more to do with larger social and cultural patterns than my own fortune. As I began to see my mishaps as a whole, this is what I came up with:
Category I: The Educational System
Just as health care is crippled in the United States, the education system here is struggling to pull itself forward, but due to structural and social instabilities, its threatening to topple and any point. I shall start with the structural failures.
The life of a civil servant: In an attempt to avoid the unequal distribution of teachers, resources and skills, and to assure a job to all teachers, Spain’s solution is this: teachers are given positions based on a lottery/point system. Basically, it’s a genuine three ring circus, complete with juggling, flaming rings, monkeys and ferocious lions.
Flaming Hoop Numero Uno: Graduate from the university with a bachelor’s degree.
Flaming Hoop Numero Dos: Complete a Pedagogical Aptitude Course that covers basic educational theory, followed by a short practicum.
Lion, Tigers and Bears “Oh My”: Los Oposiciones. This is the mother of all exams that is comprised of three parts. This is an exam that tests your knowledge of the subject you teach. HOWEVER, due the high number of applicants and competition, the tests are outrageously difficult!!! To give you an idea, the level of knowledge required is equivalent to that of a university professor in the U.S. (although here, they will never teach the majority of the material they are tested on). For example, if your especiality is history (albeit contemporary, prehistory, medieval…) you are tested on ALL history; that’s to say the entire world’s history and I’m not exaggerating. There are 71 themes related to each subject and a lottery determines which of the 71 you will be tested on; therefore you must study them all. People spend months, even years studying for the Oppositions. It is normal to fail, a matter of luck if you pass and common to take it multiple times.
The Monkeys; Step Four: If you haven’t passed the Oppositions that doesn’t mean you can’t teach (if this were the case there would be hardly any teachers) it just means that you are a temporary or “substitute” teacher. Here’s where the show just begins and the point system comes into play. As a temporary teacher you can be sent to anywhere within the community (equivalent to a state). So imagine that you have your house and family in Seattle; well, whether you like it or not, you get sent to Walla Walla for one, two years or an indefinite amount of time. If you reject the offer you get bumped to the bottom of the list and might end up unemployed. It doesn’t matter if your mother is being treated for breast cancer or your wife is pregnant (real situations of some I know).
Juggling: Passing the Oppositions isn't the only thing that determines your value. One can also receive points based on service time, if you’ve taken extra training courses, have a doctorate or any publications. All these things can earn you points which will eventually factor into your final placement. Then based on your points and the exams, you are then assigned a permanent position, although there is still little one can do to influence where that final destination may be. I have a friend who passed her exams a few years back and still hasn’t received her permanent placement.
Would you do all this for a steady, permanent job? The Repercussions: As you can imagine, this system, although quite entertaining, causes a ripple effects:
i. The teachers are far from their homes and families and generally unhappy.
ii. Who knows where they will be next year so why invest in the development of future programs? Why rock the boat and stick up for injustices? Why try to better your community and establish nurturing relationships with your students?
iii. Due to the extremely brief practicum, most teachers are given very little instruction on actually how to teach and are basically thrown to the wolves.
iv. They are not hired they are sent somewhere like soldiers so there is not much alliance amongst the teachers nor are they their based on their merit nor ability to actually teach.
v. If one is studying for the all consuming Oppositions, that is their priority, and they lesson planning (although basically non existent to begin with) is reduced to nothing and the quality of the classes suffers.
vi. Basically, every year is like starting with a new staff with the exception of a few people. For those few who remain it means they must carry the weight of keeping any existing programs or projects alive. They have much more responsibility but are not compensated and rarely recognized for it and continuously have to incorporate and train new staff. While those who are there temporarily have to adapt to each institution with its hierarchy of directors and ways of doing things.
The Time Warp:
The School: Unfortunately, the school I'm at is long overdue for a remodel and has a striking resemblance to a juvenile detention center. There is supposedly a library, but it is locked, as is the one shelf with the books. The books themselves are from the century before Christ and the majority lost their covers somewhere back in the Middle ages.
Technology: They decided to enter the twenty-first century a few years back and got computers in many of the classrooms, yet most of the students still don't know how to type.
Methodology: Most of the teaching strategies are still centered around reading text, translating it and answering questions. There is little interaction with the information and the thought of catering to different learning styles is unheard of.
“Spain is just a bit slow”: Failure to recognize different learning styles is less surprising than the fact that they are completely blind to learning disabilities. A child with A.D.H.D. is called “nervous” where as a slightly autistic one just has “problems”. I'll be the first to admit that the U.S. goes a bit overboard with these labels, but naming them is the first step to helping a child. I can really identify with the frustration I see many of the students going through. Here is a prime example of how old school ways of thinking don't meet new school needs.
One of those most pressing needs is accommodations for immigrant students. More and more students who don’t speak Spanish as their firs language are entering the school and no one is prepared for the additional resources required. There are students who come from Africa who may never have learned to use the Roman alphabet nor even to read and they are just thrown in to a class. There is “language support” but it only lasts a few months at the most and must be recommend by the teachers. Of course, when one sets up a student for failure, one is really setting up the entire system to fail. Maybe it’s still too soon to see the repercussions, but what will eventually happen is that those students who are forgotten about and left to drowned academically will develop a sense of resentment which will eventually fuel greater problems.
No Frills Added: Whether for lack of resources or imagination, there are no school sports, no clubs, no band, no drama, nothing extracurricular here. On the bright side, that makes for less clicks, but it also makes for less opportunities in general for students to develop their character.
No discipline = Lord of the Flies: There is absolutely no established disciplinary system here. Meaning, when a student is acting up, there is no “study hall”, no talking to the principle, no visit to the school counselor (they don’t exist), no Saturday work, nothing. The reason being that the teachers are considered “responsible” for maintaining control in the classroom. Perhaps this logic worked in the past, but now with larger class sizes and a more complex student body, putting all the responsibility on the teacher is not only unrealistic, it’s setting the stage for a bigger problems down the road. The only solution they have for bad behavior is to send a note home to the parents which as we are now discovering, most of the students forge any ways. Aside from the informative parent notes the teachers can give “partes”. Students can receive up to 3 partes before they are expelled. But you know, “so and so really is a good kid” and the teachers don’t want to be the cause of a student being expelled. So basically, there are no consequences for bad behavior.
It wasn’t until recently when I couldn’t hold it in any longer and let loose at the teacher’s meeting (I just happened to be using a computer in the room and didn’t realize it was a meeting, classic Lauril) that I expressed my utter surprise and disgust at how the students acted in class; I told them that what I was observing was NOT normal. They came up with a set of very clear rules and consequences and shared them with the students. Things went great for about a week and then teachers and students slipped back into their old ways. In the words of Sebastian the crab from The Little Mermaid “Teenagers, you give them an inch and they’ll walk all over you.” According to Caesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer) success is achieved by giving: A) Exercise B) Discipline and then C) Affection. In this case I’d have to agree (exercise may being mental in the classroom setting of course). If I learned anything from horse riding it is that consistency is a must. If you talk the talk you’d better walk the walk, practice what you preach... the clinches could go on. It’s obvious that if the teachers just set up a system to support discipline and then followed through with their threats, things would drastically change. But alas, here’s where I get to the sweeping generalizations about Spaniards that I’ve developed throughout my experience which may explain how the situation got to where it is.
Spanish children are EXTREMELY SPOILED!!!! Everyone agrees that in that in the past 15 years things have changed drastically but no one can exactly say why. Some attribute it to technology saying that with with MSN, cell phones and such, it’s easier for children to entertain themselves and parents have less and less control. However, I’ve witnessed parents give into their children’s demands time and time again, coddle them and re enforce bad behavior. In my opinion, a temper tantrum should never be rewarded and a seven year old should not still be drinking from a bottle, but maybe that’s just me.
Along with being spoiled, the children have absolutely no work ethic. The truth is that learning a language is work; although I try to make it as fun as possible, one can not learn without working. But the second they have to make any mental effort they simply shut down. There is no curiosity for learning. They don’t have after school sport nor clubs, although some play on private teams, this means that they are not learning how to work from the “normal” sources. They have very minimal house hold chores and as stated before the sense of consequence is very slight. If you wonder what happens when children with a relaxed work ethic grow up, continue reading.
Category II: “I Can’t Function Without My Siesta,” Results of a Relaxed Work Ethic
Public transportation leaves much to be desired. The buses normally run late or sometimes just don’t come at all.
I have 9 euros and 44 cents in my bank account and I was supposed to be paid 6 days ago!! No one seems to be too concerned about it but me.
Plan your meals ahead on the weekends because everything will be closed on Sundays.
If you want anything at a restaurant, be ready to shout it out, the waiter will not come otherwise.
Libraries (if you can call them that) aren’t even open on the weekends. The librarian just upped and quit, so now it’s closed.
I’m still waiting on a couple of letters. The mail carrier likes to wait to deliver until a pile accumulates so I tend to get everything all at once.
The highways are strewn with road kill; yet under closer examination, the Spanish road kill greatly differs that of WA. In Olympia, one will typically run across (pun intended) deer, raccoon, Opossum and the occasional unfortunate porcupine. Here the highway victims are almost exclusively made up of dogs and cats (with the occasional fox thrown in which we always joke about saying “well, there goes the last fox in Spain”). The reason being is that, in most cases, according to the Spanish mentality, a “pet” is more animal than member of the family. An animal’s job is to be an animal and an important part of that is to breed. Spaying and neutering is seen as barbaric, it’s basically taking away the animals purpose to live (plus, it would be a petty matter to spend money on). As a result there is an over abundance of stray cats and dogs, many of which meet their end in the glare of headlights.
There is garbage everywhere. Again, I can expect this from a country with less resources but Spain is supposed to be “modern” and “developed”. Recycling has just come to this country, but there is still quite a bit of confusion as to how this works (apparently Styrofoam is recyclable). In the 1970s Almería (my province) decided to boost its economy by putting a number of greenhouses up (what else is one going to do with all that wide open desert?). It worked wonderfully, where there was nothing before, Almería has now become Spain’s bread basket. These stretches of greenhouses are known as the “sea of plastic”; however, once they are no longer in use, they are left abandoned and the wind carries off the plastic, choking up the rivers and tangling in the cacti.
Category 3: The Racism
With the opening of the EU has come a flood of immigration from many eastern European countries, especially Romania. There is also a work visa agreement with many Latin American countries so large numbers have emigrated from Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina… Of course many Africans also undertake extremely dangerous journeys to make it to Europe. In addition, there is the “British Invasion” consisting of all the Brits who buy up the coast and move to Sunny Spain. All this immigration has happened within a relatively short time period, about the last 10 years, and the Spaniards who were under a nationalistic dictatorship for so many years aren’t exactly sure how to react. Of course nationalism is based on exclusion not inclusion, and although the dictatorship ended over more than 30 years ago, many people aren’t as quick to update their world views. To give an example all Asian people are known as “Chinese” or more commonly and socially acceptably “pigs”. All Africans are known as “Blacks” and all whites are “Giris”. The director of my school is of the old way of thinking and has openly, in public settings, blamed problems on the immigrant students and made racist comments. In addition, today they still celebrated a holiday called “The Moors and the Christians” where they rein act the conquering of the Moors; this would be similar to dedicating a day to “The Cowboys and the Indians”. Once again, I’m not saying that these problems don’t exist in the States, but it’s more commonly recognized what is politically correct and what isn’t.
Minor Grievances:
a. Bad dental hygiene is common and socially acceptable. The mixture of coffee, cigarettes, ham and infrequent brushing makes for some pretty putrid bad breath at times. Luckily, things are changing and most kids go at most once a year to the dentist. There are just certain people I have to talk to in well ventilated areas.
b. Speaking of hygiene, I feel pleasantly surprised when there is hand soap in a bathroom! Toilet seats are nice as well, but not always to be expected. And I find that if you leave food out, it just lasts much longer than in the States, how curious…
c. The cigarette smoke has honestly gotten better since I was here 5 years ago, but I still miss smoke free cafes, bars, bus stations, everything. Although many facilities have converted to non smoking, it is common to see a non smoking announcement and someone smoking just below it.
d. You can’t drink the water here, I would expect this of Nicaragua, but honestly, even if you wanted to the water tastes so terrible here. It is filled with lime scale, so much that my hair has turned brittle and dry. Joanna’s water heater broke after only a year and when opened up they found actual stones. Luckily, I found a public fountain in the next village over and I’ve taken to filling my water jugs there (I feel so authentic). But isn’t drinkable, free water high up on the list of basic human rights?
Well San Juan, more or less that’s what I’ve got. I think there really is something to this, it is a relief getting this all out, now I just can’t wait to burn it! Was I completely naive before? Or am I completely jaded now? Is the U.S. any better off? Maybe our history of confronting the challenges of education and immigration is longer, but aside from our extensive politically correct vocabulary, are we any closer to equality and social responsibility? What do you think?
It wouldn’t be fair to finish this without at least mentioning at least a few things that I still appreciate about Spain:
1. Tapas!!!
2. Fanta Limon
3. Ice cream
4. Fresh fruits and veggies from the market (yes, I am aware that my first three items on the list are food)
5. The beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6. Having so much history all around
7. The marble promenade (the biggest marble exporting company is near by so there’s lots of marble all over the place)
8. The people are always willing to help if you need anything.
9. Siesta
10. A more relaxed pace of life
11. Cheap shoes
12. Lot of Catholic holidays
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Plagiarism
Hi Everyone,
Well it's been so long since my last post that I wanted to put something up. I have to admit I'm cheating though. My friend Helen came to visit me for England and she wrote such a nice, informative review that I asked her if I could use it. Although I haven't been posting much, I promise I've got something huge in the works, a bit of a "reflective summary" of my time here I guess you could call it. In the mean time please enjoy Helen's account of our trip:
>
> My friend from Olympia Lauril has been over in Spain for about 7 months now. She is there to work as an English assistant in a Spanish school, and is living in a town called Garrucha which is located in the south east of Spain on the coast of the Mediterranean. It is in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in the Province of Almeria. So last Thursday I headed off to Spain to visit her.
>
>
>
> I left Manchester at around 8 in the morning although my flight was delayed so ended up getting into Spain an hour later than I was scheduled. Once I arrived we headed into the town of Almeria. It was quite warm as soon as I got off the plane. And even though Lauril swore it wasn't that hot, compared to what I had just come from in Manchester it was roasting. The province Almeria is the only desert in Europe with average year round temperatures of 19 degrees Celsius. It was probably around 25 to 30 degrees Celsius the whole time that I was there. We walked along the shore and then headed up into the town to go to the castle which is called the Alcazaba. It is a Moorish castle built in the 10th century. It is up on a hill in the centre of the city. In such a dry region it was surprising to see the amount of flowers and plants that were located in the Alcazaba. There were the ruins of a well that had been used to get the water up to the castle. It was pumped using a donkey walking round in circles and then the water was kept in a holding fountain and used in the gardens and in the house in the castle. The water features were pretty stunning, all the paths had channels of water running down the middle of them, and there were pools and fountains up in what had been the living area of the castle. It said that it was very important that there be water because of the Muslim faith of the castle builders. there were also some cats that were wondering around the castle, they were quite cute, although scared of humans. The middle part of the castle was where everyone would have lived. There was a grand open palace type place that now has the gift store in. This would have been where the king lived when he visited the city. Then all around this area were the ruins of the house of the inhabitants of the castle. There was a reconstructed house in where all the ruins were. It had 4 rooms around a central courtyard, but really the courtyard was also a room. It would have been covered with a sun shade made of fabric, and was the main living area of the house. The houses even on the hot day were quite a pleasant temperature. The top part of the castle was had been added on when the Christians conquered Almeria in the 16th century. There was a distinct change in how the castle was constructed, and looked a little more like other castle I have been to. It had a large open courtyard with a tower in the middle and guard towers built into the walls. After exploring the Alcazaba we went back into the town to get lunch. We wondered around the streets trying to find a certain restaurant that Lauril had been to before. She called up one of the teachers that she works with, who is from Almeria, he gave us some directions but we still weren't able to find it. We ended up at a little street bar and had drinks and tapas, before Lauril friend showed up and showed us around Almeria a little. We then had some really amazing ice ream, and headed back to the car. Garrucha is about a 45 minute drive from Almeria and is on the east coast of Spain whereas Almeria is on the south coast. She lives in an apartment just outside the centre of Garrucha, it is about 500 feet from the Mediterranean, and basically there is just a road and the rest of the apartment complex between her apartment and the sea. That evening we walked into Garrucha and had some Tapas, and walked along the beach.
>
>
>
> Friday is market day in Garrucha, so we got up and headed to the market which is huge. There was one street that was cloths, shoes, jewelery, and other non food items. It probably went on for about 5 or 6 blocks, and then on the street below was the food market. With all the fresh produce form the region. It was a really good market, and fun to walk through and hear all the people trying to sell things. We headed back to Lauril's for lunch and then in the afternoon we headed a bit north to just out side the town of Cuevas de Almanzora. Here we went to and archaeological site called Fuente Alamo. It dates from the Bronze Age and is from the Argaric culture. The site was build into the side of a hill. It would have had a small community of house that were terraced into the side of the hill and at the top was where the higher class people lived and the fortifications were. It was quite a trek up to the top of the hill, but worth it for the views at the top. It was so silent and peaceful. You could see for miles, and it was understandable why the location was picked. There would have been running water there (although now there was just a dry stream bed) and you could see for miles from the top of the hill. Some of the walls had been partially reconstructed and so you could see what the layout would have been. As well as the walls of the buildings there were sandstone graves where remains would have been places, there were all collected in one area just outside where the building were. What was also really neat about this location was the amount of marble that was just lying around on the ground. It seemed to be some of the main building martial for this area of Spain, with marble sidewalks in Garrucha. We headed back to Garrucha and then went out for the evening to Mojcar. Mojcar is the next town south along the coast from Garrucha and the old town is built onto a hill over looking the water. It actually reminded me a lot of the pictures that you see of the Greek islands, with the white houses perched onto the hillside. We had a wonderful dinner there in a restaurant that had an amazing view over the valley floor to the other towns, and then explored the town a little.
>
>
>
> Saturday we met up with a few of Lauril's friends. There were 3 girls from the US who are over in Spain on the same program as Lauril is, as well a Spanish guy who lived in the same town as 2 of the girls. He drove one of the cars while we went in Lauril's. We headed off to Cabo de Gata, which is a national nature reserve. We went to the lighthouse first which is located at the farthest southeast point in Spain. The lighthouse is on a rocky headland at the point. We had our lunch just off to the side of the lighthouse although almost got blown away it was so windy. We then navigated an extremely narrow road on the side of a cliff, to go and see some Flamingos. The Flamingos were located in salt marshes. These had been created to extract salt from the Mediterranean. The flamingos were quite far away but my camera managed to get some pretty good pictures of them. You just have to know what you are looking at. We then headed off towards another small village within the nature reserve to go to the beach. The beach is called Playa Monsul. It was a pretty big beach, and there were a ton of people there enjoying the nice weather. I went swimming at this beach, and really enjoyed it. We then took the coast road back to Garrucha, where we went out for drinks and dinner, where I tried the local delicacy of deep fried squid. I didn't really like it but I can say I tried it.
>
>
>
> Sunday we headed up into the mountains but first we went to another beach where we had a picnic lunch. The beach was also quite full and unlike the one that we had been to on Saturday there were a lot less waves, as it was in a protected cove. It was also full of people, enjoying the nice weather and the beach. We then headed towards Velez Blanco where there was a castle to see. The drive was very pretty as we drove over the hills and through some orange and olive groves. We didn't end up getting to the castle in time to see the inside as it closed at 2 and we didn't get there until nearly 4, but it was a nice castle to look at from eh outside, and then we went into the town to look around. The town was perched onto the side of a hill with the castle at the top with the village below. It was a really beautiful town, with quite a lot of greenery because there were natural springs in the hillside. There were 3 4 fountains that we visited where the water came straight out the hillside. We had a nice ice cream in a restaurant where one of the fountains was and then headed back to Garrucha. We had an early night as I my flight was at 12 the next day but Lauril couldn't get me to the airport because she and to work, I had to take the bus to Almeria. It was a 2 hour bus ride along really winding roads all the Almeria and then I took the taxi to the airport. I got back into Manchester to be greeted by although not hot weather, muggy weather. We are still having nice weather at the moment, and it isn't that great to be stuck in an office.
>
>
>
> If you want to see pictures from this trip they are on my flicker page in the album named Spain.
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/didotwite2001/
Well it's been so long since my last post that I wanted to put something up. I have to admit I'm cheating though. My friend Helen came to visit me for England and she wrote such a nice, informative review that I asked her if I could use it. Although I haven't been posting much, I promise I've got something huge in the works, a bit of a "reflective summary" of my time here I guess you could call it. In the mean time please enjoy Helen's account of our trip:
>
> My friend from Olympia Lauril has been over in Spain for about 7 months now. She is there to work as an English assistant in a Spanish school, and is living in a town called Garrucha which is located in the south east of Spain on the coast of the Mediterranean. It is in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in the Province of Almeria. So last Thursday I headed off to Spain to visit her.
>
>
>
> I left Manchester at around 8 in the morning although my flight was delayed so ended up getting into Spain an hour later than I was scheduled. Once I arrived we headed into the town of Almeria. It was quite warm as soon as I got off the plane. And even though Lauril swore it wasn't that hot, compared to what I had just come from in Manchester it was roasting. The province Almeria is the only desert in Europe with average year round temperatures of 19 degrees Celsius. It was probably around 25 to 30 degrees Celsius the whole time that I was there. We walked along the shore and then headed up into the town to go to the castle which is called the Alcazaba. It is a Moorish castle built in the 10th century. It is up on a hill in the centre of the city. In such a dry region it was surprising to see the amount of flowers and plants that were located in the Alcazaba. There were the ruins of a well that had been used to get the water up to the castle. It was pumped using a donkey walking round in circles and then the water was kept in a holding fountain and used in the gardens and in the house in the castle. The water features were pretty stunning, all the paths had channels of water running down the middle of them, and there were pools and fountains up in what had been the living area of the castle. It said that it was very important that there be water because of the Muslim faith of the castle builders. there were also some cats that were wondering around the castle, they were quite cute, although scared of humans. The middle part of the castle was where everyone would have lived. There was a grand open palace type place that now has the gift store in. This would have been where the king lived when he visited the city. Then all around this area were the ruins of the house of the inhabitants of the castle. There was a reconstructed house in where all the ruins were. It had 4 rooms around a central courtyard, but really the courtyard was also a room. It would have been covered with a sun shade made of fabric, and was the main living area of the house. The houses even on the hot day were quite a pleasant temperature. The top part of the castle was had been added on when the Christians conquered Almeria in the 16th century. There was a distinct change in how the castle was constructed, and looked a little more like other castle I have been to. It had a large open courtyard with a tower in the middle and guard towers built into the walls. After exploring the Alcazaba we went back into the town to get lunch. We wondered around the streets trying to find a certain restaurant that Lauril had been to before. She called up one of the teachers that she works with, who is from Almeria, he gave us some directions but we still weren't able to find it. We ended up at a little street bar and had drinks and tapas, before Lauril friend showed up and showed us around Almeria a little. We then had some really amazing ice ream, and headed back to the car. Garrucha is about a 45 minute drive from Almeria and is on the east coast of Spain whereas Almeria is on the south coast. She lives in an apartment just outside the centre of Garrucha, it is about 500 feet from the Mediterranean, and basically there is just a road and the rest of the apartment complex between her apartment and the sea. That evening we walked into Garrucha and had some Tapas, and walked along the beach.
>
>
>
> Friday is market day in Garrucha, so we got up and headed to the market which is huge. There was one street that was cloths, shoes, jewelery, and other non food items. It probably went on for about 5 or 6 blocks, and then on the street below was the food market. With all the fresh produce form the region. It was a really good market, and fun to walk through and hear all the people trying to sell things. We headed back to Lauril's for lunch and then in the afternoon we headed a bit north to just out side the town of Cuevas de Almanzora. Here we went to and archaeological site called Fuente Alamo. It dates from the Bronze Age and is from the Argaric culture. The site was build into the side of a hill. It would have had a small community of house that were terraced into the side of the hill and at the top was where the higher class people lived and the fortifications were. It was quite a trek up to the top of the hill, but worth it for the views at the top. It was so silent and peaceful. You could see for miles, and it was understandable why the location was picked. There would have been running water there (although now there was just a dry stream bed) and you could see for miles from the top of the hill. Some of the walls had been partially reconstructed and so you could see what the layout would have been. As well as the walls of the buildings there were sandstone graves where remains would have been places, there were all collected in one area just outside where the building were. What was also really neat about this location was the amount of marble that was just lying around on the ground. It seemed to be some of the main building martial for this area of Spain, with marble sidewalks in Garrucha. We headed back to Garrucha and then went out for the evening to Mojcar. Mojcar is the next town south along the coast from Garrucha and the old town is built onto a hill over looking the water. It actually reminded me a lot of the pictures that you see of the Greek islands, with the white houses perched onto the hillside. We had a wonderful dinner there in a restaurant that had an amazing view over the valley floor to the other towns, and then explored the town a little.
>
>
>
> Saturday we met up with a few of Lauril's friends. There were 3 girls from the US who are over in Spain on the same program as Lauril is, as well a Spanish guy who lived in the same town as 2 of the girls. He drove one of the cars while we went in Lauril's. We headed off to Cabo de Gata, which is a national nature reserve. We went to the lighthouse first which is located at the farthest southeast point in Spain. The lighthouse is on a rocky headland at the point. We had our lunch just off to the side of the lighthouse although almost got blown away it was so windy. We then navigated an extremely narrow road on the side of a cliff, to go and see some Flamingos. The Flamingos were located in salt marshes. These had been created to extract salt from the Mediterranean. The flamingos were quite far away but my camera managed to get some pretty good pictures of them. You just have to know what you are looking at. We then headed off towards another small village within the nature reserve to go to the beach. The beach is called Playa Monsul. It was a pretty big beach, and there were a ton of people there enjoying the nice weather. I went swimming at this beach, and really enjoyed it. We then took the coast road back to Garrucha, where we went out for drinks and dinner, where I tried the local delicacy of deep fried squid. I didn't really like it but I can say I tried it.
>
>
>
> Sunday we headed up into the mountains but first we went to another beach where we had a picnic lunch. The beach was also quite full and unlike the one that we had been to on Saturday there were a lot less waves, as it was in a protected cove. It was also full of people, enjoying the nice weather and the beach. We then headed towards Velez Blanco where there was a castle to see. The drive was very pretty as we drove over the hills and through some orange and olive groves. We didn't end up getting to the castle in time to see the inside as it closed at 2 and we didn't get there until nearly 4, but it was a nice castle to look at from eh outside, and then we went into the town to look around. The town was perched onto the side of a hill with the castle at the top with the village below. It was a really beautiful town, with quite a lot of greenery because there were natural springs in the hillside. There were 3 4 fountains that we visited where the water came straight out the hillside. We had a nice ice cream in a restaurant where one of the fountains was and then headed back to Garrucha. We had an early night as I my flight was at 12 the next day but Lauril couldn't get me to the airport because she and to work, I had to take the bus to Almeria. It was a 2 hour bus ride along really winding roads all the Almeria and then I took the taxi to the airport. I got back into Manchester to be greeted by although not hot weather, muggy weather. We are still having nice weather at the moment, and it isn't that great to be stuck in an office.
>
>
>
> If you want to see pictures from this trip they are on my flicker page in the album named Spain.
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/didotwite2001/
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