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!!!!