ANALYSIS OF: Infrastructure

We divide our analysis into Spanish and German infrastructure of schools. In general, all described schools sound rather modern because they were all equipped with e.g. informatics classes, big sport complexes, canteens, and music and art classes. What is different between German and Spanish schools is the separation of school levels. In Germany mostly the schools are individual, e.g. the pre-school has its own property, the primary school its own and the secondary as well. Nowadays, there is a change happening though. There are no more separated secondary and high schools, but comprehensive schools, which means that you have all school levels on one property. This is also the case for Spain. The schools are mostly divided into 3 or 4 parts: pre-school, primary school, secondary and sometimes high school.

Nevertheless, both countries have some similarities. The infrastructure of the primary school differs in several aspects from the infrastructure of the secondary school. For instance the appearance seems to be more colorful in the primary school than in the secondary.

Furthermore, they are equipped with more playgrounds and possibilities to be more (inter-)active on the school yard. There were breakout rooms to communicate but also to read books.

In one case of our experiences there was the possibility to go to their own school church, which was on the same property.

ANALYSIS OF: Methods.

Each school has a different methodology, and this is a very important part on the development of the child, as it can improve or make difficult the capacity to learn new things. This methods depend on the laws of each country and in each school or teacher.

In our group we have the great opportunity to get to know the difference between methodologies of schools and even countries. We all agree that normally, on the first years, all schools tend to teach with games and work groups "In preschool, the teachers taught us by games, activities, trips, etc. We were never bored, this was always their objective" (Cecilia). 

In primary school, we have different experiences, for example, Noah learnt to formulate his thoughs and give his opinion thanks to the group works: "while working in groups, it was important to communicate" In the case of Paula, she likes a lot the methods used in primary: "teachers on primary used to let our creativity free, learning a lot with the envoronment and nature"
However, in the case of Cristina and Marina, they were in a school which tend to use more traditional methods, like a teacher explaining the lesson and then a few days or weeks later there was an exam.

On the other hand, we all agree that in high school teachers didnt use a variety of technics to teach, just he typical one of telling us the lesson and taking exams.

We think that the old school must change and renovate itself with new learning techniques and group works and maybe reducing the number of students per class. We also think that the teacher should addapt himsel to the class.

ANALYSIS OF: Student´s feeling

As the student’s feelings are not dependent on your place of living, we analysed that there are a lot of similarities. Especially in primary school, the relationship between students or students and teachers represented the most important aspect of the feelings. The teachers were more caring and sensitive towards their student’s feelings, which made the students feel comfortable and welcome.

In secondary school this changed into a rather strict environment. The relationship to the teachers became more distant. Teachers expected more, became stricter and cared less. Furthermore, the pressure raised in class, e.g. when grades were told in public, which contributed to a higher competition between classmates. Moreover, presentations and vocal participation had a bigger value, which made the students feel uncomfortable and nervous. Although, this was a preparation for high school.

Besides the whole pressure, school trips and breaks were opportunities to grow together as a “community” and contributed to the statement that we felt a bit like a family. We learned to support each other in any situation, getting to know your friends better over time.

In comparison to university (if you get there), the school time seems to be more organized as it gives you a schedule and you feel part of a community. This changes completely in university as you have to organize everything on your own.

ANALYSIS OF: Values

In general, in ours experiences we talk about a lot of values that we have learned in the school like respect, cooperation, generosity, humility... But we didn’t relate it to the work in class, all of us talk about “extra” activities out of the routine class in which we worked this values, like special festivities or trips.

On the one hand, Cristina say about her school: “All the years, we celebrated the week of solidarity, we did different activities related to solidarity like a solidarity race or “operación bocata” (we paid 5 euro for Panamá and we ate a sandwich)”. We all did something like that in our schools, but not in an all week, the others schools choose just one day, solidarity day and this day we made some solidarity things. But we think that this idea is better than in our schools because just one day is not enough to learn one of the most important value, like is solidarity.
On the other hand, Paula talks about her activities on secondary school to work on different values: “All the first days of school, we talked in class about the different values that we wanted for us and we chose one of them, the one that class most needed, so we worked the all year with this value to improve it”. We like that initiative because with it, all the partners of the class work together to improve them self.

Finally, we want to relation this issue with the relation between kids and teachers, because we think that if we have a close relation with teachers, talk not just about the different subjects, we can learn about different values, or better said, life lessons.

Values

Águeda:

As I said before, I have studied primary and secondary school in the same centre. There they were very focus in giving us some values, above all the respect. The school was known because this focus in the teaching of values.

Since the first day, we learn that we should respect everybody, but they were insistent in the respect of women, immigrants or homosexual people. To do that, besides of celebrate a lot of “important days” like the women day, the peace day, the solidarity week… and do a lot of trips and groups activities (as I said before), we work in class every weeks different themes. When we were in primary school we do that in the “tutorial” hour, but when we were in secondary school, we have a special signature only for that, which was called “orientación”. There we went deep in the lives of some women, for example.

In addition to this, the school was very focus in the respect of the environment too. So they teach us to recycle and we used to use recycling materials. For example, when we celebrate the carnival day, we used to make our costumes with things that we have.

Cristina:

In my school, the values were the most important thing on the student’s education. My school was religious and worked values as friendship, community, solidarity…

I remember that every year the school chose a theme based on a value. All the year we worked all the important values but we devoted more time to the theme chosen. 

All the years, we celebrated the week of solidarity, we did different activities related to solidarity like a solidarity race or “operación bocata” (we paid 5 euro for Panamá and we ate a sandwich).

In conclusion, Thanks to the values that have taught by the school, I am what I am. My personality is based on these values.

Marina:

I think that my school had very good values, because even though it was a religious and some people might not like religious schools, mine used to work, besides the religious one, moral values such as solidarity, friendship, love… and every year they used to focus and work in one value.

It also encourages students to go volunteer in many activities they offer like “la gran recogida de alimentos” with supermarkets or others with ONGs.

One week every year it was “the solidarity week” in which they used to collect founds for a different cause, this year was for the refugees, other year was for philipines, etc.

Paula:

In primary and high school I was at the same school. The values that were worked there were so good to me.

Talking about values, I mean the different ways that our personality can get. We can be competitive or we can cooperate with ours mates, maybe we can be selfish or maybe generous, arrogant or humble…

In my school, teachers worked to show us the good values, (cooperate, generous, humble…) with activities, excursions, educational class…

All firsts days of school, we talked in class about the different values that we wanted for us and we chose one of them, the one that class most needed, so we worked the all year with this value to improve it.

Cecilia:

In preschool, primary school and secondary school, the teachers begun, step by step, to teach us important values like the solidarity, the friendship, the company, the concord, the empathy, etc. They taught it to us with games, activities, trips, etc. and we had lot of fun.

In the high school (in secondary school too, but less), they taught us this values and more, but more abstract values, or better said, life lessons.

Clasification of students: competitiveness and diversity

Silvia:

Aspects of competitiveness and diversity during primary school where quit different then in high school. If I try to remember the primary school first I noticed less competition during the four years (as a child). Is was about being good enough to tell the parents about the grades. I tried to be as good as I can, just to make my mother proud. It was a hard time for me, I remember studying a lot after school with her, but my grades at the end where good. I think no body in this age is really jealous if you get good grades. I would say that contestability in class was up to everybody which was left to oneself and support at home. The education at home is a benefit for young growing up children during school and that is why parents are very important in that age.

In general we had a great team spirit in primary school, helping each other in some tricky moments.. But unconsciously we knew who was a good pupil and who needed extra more help.

My view on competitiveness and diversity in high school is a little different:

We started to become ten years old and tried to reach higher standards in grades and compliments. The competition became more at the ending years of high school. Everybody tried to work alone, without sharing the results. Within the ages of 14-17 (maybe) thecompetitiveness grew and pupil became different in the way of learning things and sharing them in a working group. The fact that you change yourself in that age, changes also the way of working and studying in school.

 Cecilia:

On my school of primary and secondary, there was lot of diversity. My school was a religious (catholic) school but there was some people of different religion. In addition, there was pupils with mentally challenged but they were very integrated on the school and on the class, with teachers and mates. Sometimes they were with us in the class, other times, they were in a class with teachers of special education but they were so happy.

The competitive didn’t appeared (or I didn’t realized it) until high school. On secondary school hadn't competitiveness, there was people that did an effort to get good marks, but they didn’t compete.

That year, the competitive was so hard. People did everything to be the best and there were very little comradeship. They always tried to be the best of the course, I didn’t really like it.

On the new high school there was a little of competitive, or rather, like in secondary, there were people that did an effort to get good marks but not competed. And there were lot of comradeship.

Noah:

1. Competitiveness:

 In this word, first I think about competition. Especially about competition between students, which takes place every day. On the one hand, I believe that competition can bring some of the students to more power. On the other hand, I think for the other part of the students this pressure can not withstand. This creates a large gap between the students.

 I have experienced competitiveness in my school days only in physical education. For me as a good athlete thus created positive pressure to perform, which has led me to perform better. But I now know that this competition was too muchfor other stundents in my class. They thought it would be too high expectations placed on them. Thus they have not tried to improve and they perceived competition as negative.

I believe that competition is important, but only in certain situations and a small extent. You as a teacher have to pay attention  which students are in your class. And that brings us to the second term.

2. Diversity:

Diversity is an issue that is increasingly important in our education systems. It was recognized that diversity can contribute to good learning and it takes an important role fort he future of our society. By diversity Children learn to see different characteristics of other children.

It's not just to make the lessons more open to culture, because even foreignersmight be in your class. It is also important to learn with children with for example  learning difficulties or with children with disabilities.

 I come from a rural area where not many children have lived. We all came from a similar family home. When I went to secondary school, it changed. The school is in a major city and I have met many new kids.

Form me, it was fun to find new friends. Sometimes there were children who had difficulties with the language, because their parents came from other countries. I found it great if the teacher has involved the countries of the children in class. I have learned many new things about different children.

Paula:

In my shool the classes were organized with 25-30 students per class. In the classes always were down´s syndrome boys and girls. They spend the time with us, but sometimes they need a special teacher or meybe they were to other class, but not too much. So they can socialize with all of us and we can know how were that kind of people and we learned to be with them, help them, and make them happy, as we do with other people.

I think that this is an amazing experience that not everybody can say, because there is people who think in down´s syndrome people like if they were weird or sick.

Águeda:

If I get down remembering how the equality in my school was, the first I think is that my school was inclusive, because there was children of different social classes and we share our class with the disables ones (they were with us almost every time).

But if I stop and think about that it wasn’t totally inclusive. It was a “semiprivate” school (we doesn’t have to pay enrollment but we have to pay for “materials”, the “dining-room” or some outdoors activities) so, it doesn’t was a school for ALL the people, maybe some of them wasn’t afford it. And I remember, for example that some partners never go to the trips because they didn’t have money.

In addition, although we shared class with the disables children and we had a good relation with them and loved them, we never had the same relationship with them like with the others children; we saw them like they were younger than us.

In the other hand, as I said talking about the relationships, the labels that teachers put to the students increased the inequality, because they didn’t were the same as theirs partners at the eyes of the teachers.

Finally, another thing that increased the inequality and the competitiveness were the exams and the calcifications. There always was the group of the “intelligent” and the “hopeless”. Although teachers never speak about these groups, we (the pupils) do it.

Burcu:

Looking at these two keywords “diversity & competitiveness”, I want to divide my school experience in three sections –primary school, secondary school and high school.

At that time I was one of the few pupils whose parents were not originally from Germany. It was neither one of the schools which had rather difficult children such as learning disabilities or an attention deficit disorder. I can clearly remember that there was only one boy in my class who was displaying social and emotional behavioral problems. And this only child was sent to a “special school” because the teacher couldn’t handle him. Looking back on that time, I see now that this child was unfairly treated. He had family problems which were reflected in his school grades, his level of attention and his social behavior. So basically, the school was quite homogeneous regarding its pupils.

In secondary school it was quite similar, as most of my classmates went over to the same secondary and high school (2 in 1) which had basically the same reputation: high level of education, low amount of foreigners. Although we were more students with migratory background, we still represented the minority. Furthermore, there were hardly any children with disabilities. When it was the same in high school, I decided to change schools and went over to another high school with lower reputation, as it was more diverse. I eased my mind immediately because not only the classmates but also the teachers were different.

Same with the competitiveness. In my last years of school, the pupils were more welcome to help each other as they saw everyone was being in the same situation. Proving to the world, that they can absolve school equally. Whereas on the other schools I attended before, the competitiveness was much higher. Everyone wanted to be the best, as the parents wanted them to be. Also the reputation of the school made the students feel like they have to compete their classmates to be the best at the end.

I can speak from my perspective, that these two factors “diversity & competitiveness” are decisive for the harmonic atmosphere inside a school. This again is a main factor for motivation and willingness to learn.

ANALYSIS OF: Clasification of students: competitiveness and diversity.

In our group we have had differents experiences according to competitiveness and diversity as we came from different backgrounds.

On the one hand, we agree that there wasn't a lot of competitiveness, as children didn't care about the others results. As Sylvia says: "If I try to remember the primary school first I noticed less competition during the four years (as a child). Is was about being good enough to tell the parents about the grades."  Besides, as we were growing, the competitiveness increased a lot. We think that in part this is because of the exams of the access of university and the pressure of teachers, "another thing that increased the inequality and the competitiveness were the exams and the califications" (Águeda).
Furthermore, competition can sometimes be good, "I believe that competition is important, but only in certain situations and a small extent" (Noah).

On the other hand, talking about diversity, two of us didn't have any contact with people with disabilitites, but there were a few from different cultures and religions.

One bad experience was of Burcu:  "I can clearly remember that there was only one boy in my class who was displaying social and emotional behavioral problems. And this only child was sent to a “special school” because the teacher couldn’t handle him" We don't agree with this separation as we think that if a student needs some type of help, teachers should do anything they can to make the children feel comfotable. 
However, there were also good experiences, as in Águeda school, "there was children of different social classes and we share our class with the disables ones (they were with us almost every time)."
We don't talk about diversity just as in the inclusive issue, as we also see it in the differences between private and public schools. With this, we are making a separations between different social classes.

In conclussion, we guess that in a school, competitiveness and diversity should be worked in a different way as the actual one. Competitiveness should be taught in a positive way, and teachers should be carefull while teaching it. Also, schools should be more inclusive, and make the children realised that everybody has the same value, and teachers should be well qualified in this area.