Els Alumnes

Tercer A

As difficult as my students were, I’ve actually started to like them… well some of them. There were some rare moments in class when I would look around and truly appreciate my students, their unique personalities, their creativity, and their potential. I know English class doesn’t always bring out the best in people, but sometimes I was lucky enough to get a glimpse of who they are underneath all of their contempt for lector class, their adolescent insecurities, and their impatience for pati (recess), lunch, and the final bell.

Of course, there were always some classes that I dreaded, usually the third level classes. Part of it was my inexperience and part was their general lack of manners and respect. I needed to be stricter in the beginning (less smiling, no flexibility, and more frequent notes home, expulsions from the class, and meetings with the principal and tutor). I came here knowing I needed to be strict, but I didn’t realize how strict. I heard somebody say “Don’t smile before Christmas” which I though was ridiculous (one of the teachers here told me he was in the military and uses similar tactics to control his class; that may be going to far… though then again at Santa Coloma, maybe not). However, while taking this literally might be going a bit too far, the idea behind it is important. Don’t try to be their friend. Don’t worry if they don’t like you. Those who are going to like you will like you even if you’re strict, and those who aren’t going to like you won’t like you even if you are nice. In fact, they are more likely to like you if you’re strict.

It’s always easier to look back and smile, but when you’re in the heat of battle it isn’t so easy. I hope I can look back with good memories of my experience in Andorra, because at school it sure was difficult. Even if I was an awful teacher and my students hated me and my class, I at least feel good that I made an effort to make life easier for the next lector. I’ve tried, and I’ve done the best with the resources I had. I will be glad when my last day comes (and when my school finally figures out when that is; most of the other lectors are already finished). But at least I am pretty sure I’ll be able to look back at most of the individuals who walked through the door to my class (that is, when it wasn’t broken), and have good memories and some hope for their future and the future of Andorra.

In the end I think I like the idea of teaching more than actually doing it. Maybe it was that I’m just not passionate or excited about teaching English where it is a fourth or even fifth language and not immediately necessary for these students. Maybe if I’d been teaching math, history, or literature it’d be different. However, I liked getting to know the students, to challenge them and provide opportunities for them to learn, and to see how much they’ve grown and changed throughout the year.

Education is one of the most important things somebody can invest in, and though I’m not sure if I’ll ever end up teaching (I know I’d never be a teaching assistant in a foreign country again, so it’s hard to know what real teaching would be like), I think I’ll end up doing something education related. After having exposure to so many different school environments such as alternative programs like the K-8 parent co-op at Maplewood, the International Baccalaureate program, Running-Start, Advanced Placement, public high school, private Christian university, the freshman house system at Edmonds-Woodway, the small school program at Mountlake Terrace, study abroad, the Andorran school system, etc., I think it’d be interesting to explore different approaches to education. There were so many things I didn’t agree with in the Andorran school system, and I feel like they are failing the students by implementing ineffective policies (not placing students in classes based on levels, not requiring them to pass classes, giving them too much freedom) and failing to adequately train their teachers. With governments constantly cutting programs and teachings staff, it is important to find out the most effective use of resources and best ways to structure our schools.

However, one of the most frustrating problems at the school came from outside the school. Almost every time I had a difficult student, their teachers would tell me that they had problems at home such as divorce, an alcoholic parent, somebody in prison, etc. Furthermore, Andorra as a country has changed so much in the past five or six decades that the culture hasn’t been able to cope. Fifty years ago the country was rural and family oriented. Fathers and children came home for lunch, and parents didn’t work until 8:00 like they do now, so they had time to teach their children important things like manners, respect, and responsibility. There is also a serious lack of extra-curricular activities for students such as sports or clubs and not enough time for them when school goes from 8:30 until 5:00. Now that Andorra has developed and continues to develop and modernize, people work too much and don’t have time for their children. They are also more protective and don’t support teachers. You can only learn so much at school; teachers aren’t parents.

In the end, my students were the worst and best part of my job here. They all have so much potential, and they only need somebody to challenge them and give them the opportunity to use their gifts. Unfortunately, at my school discipline problems made this almost impossible. I’ve heard that the schools in the higher income areas of Andorra, such as Ordino, have less of these problems. Nonetheless, many will graduate or drop-out without the necessarily skills to succeed in life. What will Andorra be like when their generation is in charge?