The Spanish Classroom Pt. 2

My second-year students (12-13 year olds) are rowdy, and with this recent heat wave, they have been rowdier. Personally, I don´t remember being inside such rowdy classrooms except for my Latin class in high school which was pretty bad. I remember feeling bad for the teacher because of the amount of back-talkers that she had to deal with on a daily basis. Now I think about it and wish that I had said something to all those ignoramuses, but when I was in high school being non-confrontational -rather, "fitting-in"- was usually at the top of every student´s priority list. Surprisingly, my experience here in Spain has been a little bit different.

First of all, I have never seen students talk back to teachers as much as I have seen here (again, to be fair, I am only refering to my second-year students and one of my fourth year classes, so fortunately it is the minority). And what´s even more shocking is the back-and-forth bickering between them and two colleagues that I have witnessed. Its not that I never saw this during middle school, but the decibel level that comes out of their mouths is surprising. This might have to do with the fact that Spaniards are naturally loud speakers. I hear them everyday in the teacher´s lounge, bars, restaurants, supermarkets, etc. You might even think that two people were arguing with each other when they´re just having a conversation, so when they are actually arguing it is amazing. But what I find even more amazing are the times I have witnessed students talk down other students for disrupting the class and preventing others and particularly themselves from learning. I can count on my hand the amount of times that I have witnessed this in the U.S., but here it has happened quite a bit. When it happens I almost want to high-five or applaud the student for sticking up for me and my colleague. And the amusing thing is that the insult is usually piercingly eloquent. The other kid is usually so dumbfounded that he may answer back with a word or two but is shut down with a final coup de grâce. I´ll save the topic of insulting in Spanish for another day because it would just take too long here.

Arguably, one of the main causes of this rebelliousness is also one of the best aspects of Spanish teachers in my opinion: approachableness. If teachers in America are distant (I´m talking about grade school, remember) then teachers in Spain are approachable and close. I wish my teachers had been as approachable when I was in high school. In fact, I found many to be intimidating back then. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I was shy, but here I feel that even the shy ones are not afraid to talk to their teachers about anything. Unfortunately, the trouble-makers look at this quality and see it as an opportunity to walk all over you. It´s a shame because if they used it to their advantage they would actually pass the class. But, the root of the problem it seems is out of the teacher´s control: home. I remember hearing a colleague talk about how she sent a note with a student so that the parents could know about the child´s recent outburst in class. According to the student, the parents had laughed when they read it. "Oh, well now I know where the problem is coming from, " she answered back. I hear scenarios like this all the time among my colleagues. Apparently, parents are no long on the teacher´s side anymore. 

Anyway, I realize in the education world this is an issue that never ends, but the best we can do at this level is what a fellow auxiliar told me: "be friendly, not their friend". That sounds like good advice.

Hasta luego.