Thursday, October 9, 2008

El Instituto La Sisla

I realized today that I have not told you much about my school itself. Before I left, I had no idea what I would be doing here besides teaching English, and I had no idea to whom or how or when or anything, really. All I knew was the order "show up in Spain" and the rest was up to me. It is still a little dizzying to think about all that brought me here.

But: my school is the typical middle and high school, except with some differences. There are six periods in each day with two small breaks, and the weeks are two rotating schedules, A and B. One week is A, the next B, and then A again. Clear? Here the students stay for the most part in one classroom and the teachers rush from class to class. This, I admit, is a bit more logical than my high school, where the hallways flooded and filled at every bell and just barely were cleared in time. But the classes here stay together throughout the day, and it would be silly to herd them around like sheep.

The program that I am in teaches English, but mainly through an immersion-type format. There is an English class devoted to grammar, but classes like Technology, Physical Education, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences are also taught in English (to varying degrees). French is also taught a bit, as I found some on the board when I entered my class today.

The teachers are very nice and professional, and love to talk. Many are intimidated by me thanks to the edict that they must talk to me in English (so that they can practice), so this has been a little frustrating for me.

The students are very curious, and range from incredibly shy (at trying to speak English, at least) to very adventurous and willing to say anything, even if they sound silly. My students are mainly 11-15, although I go to two classes a week that are not on my set schedule that are usually older, 17 or 18. The younger ones are more proficient at English, except for the girls that giggle when I enter the room and blush when I ask them what is so funny.

I am a minor celebrity here, and the students yell my name in the hallways and say "hello" as they pass, or they wave from their bikes or pound on the bus windows as they leave school and I begin my walk home. It is kind of fun, but I am trying to get them to feel comfortable with me. My goal has changed from "GET THE SPANISH EXPERIENCE!!!" to a real desire to help these students learn English, and in turn to do well in all of their studies. I made a deal that if they speak to me in English in the hallways, I will speak Spanish. They always smile devilishly when I introduce this idea to new classes.

So, this is a brief introduction of where I work, and I am glad to be there. It is a good school, and I hope to be beneficial to the staff and kids. At the very least, it is worth being here to be called "Mister Matthews."

Now I'm off to Madrid! I might write soon, or catch up in a few days.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hola, Mr. Matthews! Or, Hello, Snr. Lucas!
Wonderful reading. Love the subtle sense of humor. Hope your new home is growing on you, yet hard to imagine so without the glee and innocence of little children about. Perhpas by now, after long days at school, you will begin to enjoy the break from glee and innocence for the eveinings. A quote from Abriel. "Looo mitter dug, I ah can pick ma nose, see!" Ah when 5pm roles around the loss of innocence prevails . . .
All is well in CO. You are in my thoughts dear brother!
Doug

Tirzah said...

Oh my goodness... I think it's so funny that you just... showed up! Hello, Spain, meet Lucas Matthews!

What an interesting school! I like that they avoid the crowded halls, but I think it might bother me to sit by the same person the whole day every day the whole school year.. hm.

It rained here today. I drove home from school with my windows down and listened to Sufjan Stevens and was happy.
I was even happier when i discovered that the cat i hit this morning was not actually a cat, but a squirrel. I cannot celebrate in its death, but I much prefer the loss of an overlarge rodent to the murder of someone's pet.

It sounds like you're quite the heartthrob, friend! I'm glad that you're getting to interact with all the students... it sounds like fun, though a bit intimidating and, at least for awhile, slightly... impersonal?