work is dead dead slow

Not much to report apart from the fact that I have too much time on my hands

Dealing with Spanish Teens

I have two teen classes in a comprehensive school in Madrid. The first are little brats who just simply don´t want to be there. They´re only there because their parents want them to learn English. They´d rather be playing in the playground with their mates. I have a student called Paul (not his real name) who exceptionally disruptive. He spendes most of his time fighting with his friend Dave (again not his real name) over reward points and other things.
The second teenage group, however, is totally different. They are like little adults and well-disciplined.

till my ears bleed

I have been teaching in a typical Spanish colegio. The first class is a doddle. Two children, a girl, a boy and a text book. They're well-behaved and responsive. However, the next class is a different kettle of fish.... Seven year olds with an attention span of a goldfish..... Although I am a great teacher, I find young learners very challenging. They seem to be in a world of their own and seem to do as they please.

The colegio in Sianz de Baranda has children from 4-16. The place is really noisy. I feel I have to wear ear plugs when entering the building. Spanish children tend to be noisier than British children. However, the noise from the children is deafening. I honestly don't know how the teachers tolerate the deafening noise from the children.

They've taken the young learners group away from me... Now they're giving me a problem teen group..... Bring it on!!!!

Winter Chaos across Europe

In the last blog, I talked about how I may never get home due to the flight cancellations. However, I was one of the lucky few who managed to get home on time without any problems. Returning back to Madrid also managed to be plain sailing.
At the moment, things are pretty quiet. I only had two children out of nine in my kids´class. As a result the kids were well bwehaved and didn´t speak Spanish throughou the whole class. The office is very quiet as many teachers are still stuck in England.
Bliss!!!!

Am I going to get home....

The bad weather across Europe has caused mass delays ewverywhere. Saturday saw Eurostar trains being stranded for 15 hours. Easyjet flights everywhere have been cancelled.
While it may be nice to see snow over the Christmas period, it is still a realy pain in the arse to those whose loves have been disrupted. My flight back to London Gatwick is due to leave at 7.30 tomorrow morning. However, I am admant that this flight is going to leave on time... If it does, then Jesus (and the easyjet crew and Civil Aviation Authority) will have performed a miracle.
Fingers crossed

Order out of Chaos

I have been given two junior classes at my academy. I have two groups of 8-12 year olds. I love it. I love the fact that the kids are highly motivated individuals who love being in a class with a chaotic, scatterbrained teacher like myself. I love the fact that they throw things at eachother, have no sense of discipline, and do as they please.

Welcome to the world of teaching kids in Spain.

Working for a well-known international academy

I´m fed-up with working for unknown outfits that advertise block-hours when you are lucky they only have three hours a week for you. I´m fed-up with the tedium of turning up to large companies when no-one is there. I´m tired of women from such agencies phoning me to say that my class has been cancelled, therefore, you lose money. I´m tired of having very boring conversations with business executives who I have absolutely nothing in common whatsoever. I hate having to make endless photocopies that are goinhg to be thrown in the bin by the student(s) at the end of the day.
I´ve decided to work for a well-known academy that offers me guaranteed classes with very little travel. I´m guaranteed good hours and don´t have to run around like a headless chicken on the metro all day. I don´t have to carry heavy bags in a backpàck that is gradually falling apart. I can put all my beloved books into one locker. I know I´m going to receive the same amount of money every month.
However, the hours can be quite unsociable. When all my pals are down the pub on a friday night, I´m stuck in a classroom till 9.30pm. Afterwards, I can´t go out like most teachers, get blind drunk and whinge about the state of academies in Spain. No, I have to be up to teach 10-12-year-old kids who´d rather be somewhere else? So, why do I do it? I like the lifestyle. It beats the rat-race at home. I have more light in the winter in Madrid and am more likely to run into people I know than I am in my hometown.