"Teacher, why do they only show pictures of cave men?"

Have I really only been here a little over two weeks? It seems impossible that so much can happen in just a short period of time. It is interesting how easily a person can grow accustomed to a completely foreign environment (literally). Considering I met an entirely new set of people when I came here and am living in a previously unknown neighborhood, I feel right at home- almost to the point that I have to remind myself that I am actually living in Madrid and that this should strike me as unusual.

This past week marked the first work week for all of us English Teaching Assistants – and what different stories we all have! There are 25 of us in primary schools (6-12 years) and 13 of us in secondary schools (13-18). Here, school is only compulsory until you are 16 years of age, after which you can pursue a vocational career or two optional years of bachillerato, essentially the “college prep” track that allows you to enter university. While the majority ETAs (yikes, we are considered ETAs in Spain!) recount stories of cuddly kindergarteners, I revel in the awkwardness of my 12-15 year olds (a lot of whom are already taller than I am).

I am teaching 7 separate classrooms, which means that all of this week I gave lessons that would be appropriately titled “All about Monica” and “All about the USA” to eager and curious kids. “What kind of music do you like?” “Do you like the Simpsons?” and “How old are you?” were common questions. I am finding comfort in knowing that 12-15 years everywhere are awkward and uncertain. They are great! Their level of English is surprisingly good, particularly for the third years, who went through the Global Classrooms program (essentially the Model UN) in English last year. My task this year is to work with the second and third year students in the bilingual program to prepare them for the big conference in Madrid (and hopefully to go on to the international conference in NYC in the Spring).

I have a feeling I will have a lot of great stories to tell about these kids. They are so bright and inquisitive! For example, yesterday a little 12-year-old boy Nudin asked me during our social sciences lesson on the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages, “Teacher, why do they only show pictures of cave men [in a series of photos depicting the evolutionary process]? Weren’t there women back then, too?” Not only did I teach evolution on my first day of class, but I my students were introduced to feminist critique by their own volition. A man after my own heart!

There is so much to say about the schools here. As an educational policy nut, my mind races a hundred miles an hour while at the school, thinking of all of the differences between American schools and Spanish schools and the structural components of the bilingual program, etc. It really is the best experience for me right now and I leave school everyday on such a natural high, my mind still reeling from the days events. First, the schools are so disorganized, they make American schools look like greatly efficient machines. There are barely any posters on the wall and the style of teaching is much more traditional. Since the students are in a bilingual program regulated primarily by the British Council, there is tension between the very regulated national Spanish curriculum (something like 30% is mandated by the central government) and the English components. Teachers struggle to find quality resources in English that follow the Spanish curriculum. This problem is particularly acute for secondary schools, since there are only 10-13 secondary bilingual schools in Madrid total – not enough business for textbook companies to make it worth their while to develop quality texts.

One last important note about the schools – the teachers themselves! They are genial, a warm, welcoming group of dedicated individuals who nonetheless guard their coffee breaks with fierce intensity. The atmosphere at my school is very collegial and the teachers are very friendly and informal with each other (the relationship between teachers and students is also very informal). We go to have coffee (tomar una café) during the breaks and, without fail, someone offers to invite everyone else (a.k.a. picks up the tab), without a second thought. They seem to share ideas and resources, but have limited access to sustained, quality professional development. Though the schedule is really disorganized (still, one week into school), with teachers not knowing if they are teaching class or not or where their classroom is, somehow the system works and the kids actually do learn. Amazing!

I know that the year will prove to be a lot of hard work (despite the fact that I am only scheduled to be in school three days per week!) and rather interesting. At the very least, I seem to be getting my bilingual education fix here – and loving every minute of it!