Visitors

As part of the bilingual initiative, CEIP Blas Infante has partnerships with primary schools in Cornwall, England. As part of this, the schools have set up a pen-pal system to practice English and Spanish. This week we have had the pleasure of hosting two teachers from two different schools in Cornwall. They have been observing and helping out in the English classes while trying to practice a little Spanish.

It has been really interesting speaking with them about the education system in England and how it differs from Spain. I have found that many of their observations and questions were similar to mine upon arriving at the school in October. Aspects such as the physical formation of the desks and chairs in the classroom (in rows as opposed to clusters,) the pace of the class, the integration of all levels of children into one classroom doing the same activities have all been topics for discussion. The British teachers brought with them prepared questions from their students in Cornwall. The students wanted to know things such as:

1. What time do you eat lunch?

2. What is your favorite food

3. Do you have a cafeteria?

4. What time is school over?

5. Do you have a playground?

On Tuesday I went out with the teachers and visitors to a typical Spanish lunch, with vino tinto, cerveza, calamares fritas, and paella. It was a lot of fun to hang out outside of school and compare and contrast our home countries and upbringings as well as our opinions on education.