I have been told by numerous people here in Spain that school is "so much easier" in the United States. I never have an argument with them about it, but I would just like to set the record straight Thee U.S ranks around 14th in the World Math/Science/Reading levels while Spain comes in a whopping...26th! Now I am not proud that we are 14th, but it is certainly better than 26th. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/dec/07/world-education-rankings-maths-science-reading)
I would love to write a very long blogpost on my opinions of the Spanish education system, but I'm sure you wouldn't all love to read it. I'll try to sum it up shorty, with something I was told by someone who is doing her masters degree in Madrid. In her class, made up of Americans, Spaniards, and other Europeans, she said one thing is evident. Spanish people can take notes faster than we can. Why is that? Because they write down what they are told without stopping and questioning it. They seem more concerned with the "How" instead of the "Why". For example on a Literature test we had a question that asked "From which part of the book does this passage come" as apposed to "Explain how the author reflects his childhood through the main character in the novel." It is very uncreative as far as I am concerned.
On a positive note, I really love going to school. My classmates (some of whom are in the pictures) are all so amazing and friendly, and I always feel like if I need something they will help me. Let's put it this way...I love the social part of school. However I don't like how there is no school pride. We don't have school sweatshirts and t-shirts that people wear to class, nor are there sports games that everyone attends dressed in school colors (I guess that's an American thing). That part doesn't bother me so much, it is more that there are also no clubs( like Key Club, Film Club, French Club etc) which I think is a vital part of being involved in your school.
**This blog does not reflect the views of Rotary.
The teacher doesn't want to see if the pupils know about the childhood of the author, she just want to know if the pupils had read the book and if they understood it.
ReplyDeleteThe creative thing in those test... Is our way to explain the book, not knowing about the author (that's theory), when I was in the other high school the exams were like that... explaining things about the author, how he or she wrote the book etc, etc, etc... I prefer these tests... Because you have to understand it, there's a lot of people that read a book and they can't keep reading because they don't find the sense in the story.
Anyway, If it's easier... Why you don't pass the exams? :) You know enough Spanish to understand and study the subjects :)
[This is just my opinion, I don't want to offend, and sorry, my english is crap >_<)
thank you cristina for your interesting perspective.
ReplyDeletelove the photos. glad you love school - at least the social aspect. different styles of teaching are always beneficial. you mentioned that the spanish students are excellent note takers. this is also a very good thing. the ability to take good notes - and then review them later to pull out the pertinent information - is very important in learning.
love,
mommy
Dengakugirl, your english is not crap dont worry! I do actually pass the majority of my exams. The only classes I failed were my art classes and Language/Literature (lengua). So I would say thats more do to my poor art abilities and the fact that Lengua is ridiculosly hard for spanish people let alone an american. And by the way...how do you know whether I failed or passes my exams?
ReplyDeleteThe point isn't that you know the authors childhood. THats not what I was trying to get across. Its the fact that theres no inspiration behind the tests. Yes, maybe the teacher only cares that the students read the book...but whats the point of having read something if you didnt understand it. In my classes in the states we always had to compare different works of literature...which shows that we not only read it but actually understood the material.