In March 2024 (4-8 March) I participated in a shadowing at the Spanish school IES Hermanos Medina Rivilla in Bailén, Jaén province. Bailén has about 17,000 inhabitants and is located 293 kilometers from Madrid. The school was founded on 11 July 2000 and currently has 275 students (aged 12-16). The number of teachers varies continuously, ranging from 32-28 teachers. The school is part of the compulsory secondary education in Spain and, in addition to general education, also offers the possibility of specialising in, for example, gardening. It is therefore not a selective school, but rather a catchment school from which graduation is compulsory.
My guide was Florence Lecerf, a teacher of French language and civic education, whom I followed in her daily work. However, I also had the opportunity to visit the English, Music, Spanish, Italian and Computer Science teachers and compare how these subjects are taught.
Teaching took place from 8.15 to 11.15 every day, with three 60-minute lessons in succession, followed by a half-hour lunch break and then three 60-minute lessons again from 11.45 to 14.45. Thus, pupils and teachers basically have no shorter break, pupils remain in their mainstream classroom throughout, moving only to specialised classrooms (information technology, music education). This puts great demands on their concentration and also on the teachers' rapid movement between classes.
As this part of secondary education is compulsory and students do not go through an admissions procedure, Spanish colleagues have to cope with the very different levels of pupils and their different approaches to learning. There are also pupils from other countries who are not yet proficient in Spanish, which presents an additional challenge for teachers.
School climate and relationships
The teaching staff was very diverse in age, but all colleagues were able to communicate in basic English. I met with a very nice reception and interest in the Czech Republic and the situation in education in our country. Since the teachers do not have their own classrooms, they all meet in a large meeting room so that they can solve various problems promptly.
It is evident throughout the school that there is a strong emphasis on diversity and support for minorities, with slogans promoting diversity displayed in many places around the building, and the school also has a specialised unit to help pupils who belong to a minority group.
Relations between pupils and teachers were friendly. Teachers were welcoming to students and tried to create a pleasant and respectful atmosphere. Despite the stricter rules, such as a complete ban on mobile phones, it was clear that the teachers were genuinely interested in the students and tried their best to help them not only academically but also personally. Overall, the school climate had a positive effect on me.
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Differences and similarities in teaching
This school is characterized by a small number of pupils (8-16), which is a great advantage. From my point of view, however, the classrooms were not very quiet to work in, the Spanish mentality is much more lively than the Czech one, the teaching is therefore accompanied by a much higher level of noise than we are used to here, after three lessons I sometimes got a headache. The students stay in one classroom for almost the whole lesson and hardly move around (except in specialized classrooms (IT, HV). Classrooms are equipped with projectors and smart boards as standard, and air conditioning is also a must in hot weather.
The school has no changing rooms, students enter the building and do not change, personal belongings and jackets are kept in the classrooms where they have hooks on the back wall of the classroom.
Unfortunately, there were no sinks or running water in the classrooms, so students cannot even wash their hands or refill their water bottles, they have to use the restrooms in the hallways.
The school has a courtyard with a garden where practical training of horticulture students takes place. There is also a cafeteria, which provides refreshments for both teachers and students, especially during the half-hour lunch break. In addition, there were rich decorations throughout the school reflecting current holidays, cultural events, important personalities or pupils' achievements.
Most of the classes I had the opportunity to see were conducted in a frontal manner, which places great demands on maintaining the attention of the students, who spend 180 minutes sitting and only changing subjects and teachers.
Mobile phones are completely banned, so students basically have no opportunity to develop their digital competences, on the other hand the risks of misusing phones for cheating are eliminated. In the case of problem behaviour, the school has the possibility to exclude students from classes for up to 3 days, mainly due to disruption and inappropriate behaviour.
Teachers bring laptops to class, which carries the risk of dropping and damaging the computer while moving between classes, and the laptop needs to be plugged in every class, which again costs time. Teachers only have a common room, so they have very limited space for storing supplies. The common space also does not provide much peace and quiet to work in, so most teachers leave the preparation and repair work until they get home.
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Inspiration
Despite the differences in the system of organization of teaching, the Spanish school inspired me in many ways. The biggest inspiration for me was the atmosphere of openness and the emphasis on diversity. The school actively promotes equal opportunities and the inclusion of pupils from different cultural and social backgrounds. Another inspiring thing was the work of the specialist unit for supporting pupils with special educational needs, which looks after not only the academic side but also the psychological well-being of the students.
We could certainly take inspiration from Spain's greater focus on diversity and minorities. Although we do encounter these issues here, I do not feel that they are given the importance that they deserve.
I was also interested in how consistently the school recalls important topics such as human rights, gender equality or environmental sustainability, not only during lessons but also through the decoration of the school premises and various project activities. This approach contributes to the development of pupils' social awareness and creates a welcoming, inclusive school environment.
The collaboration between teachers across subjects has also been a great inspiration for me. The frequent sharing of experiences and mutual support contributed to the cohesion of the teaching staff, which reflected positively on the atmosphere in the school. Regular joint meetings of the teachers of our school, not only during meetings, could contribute to greater cooperation between colleagues, even across subjects.
I also really liked the fact that the school has laptops available for students to use, so it is possible to work with them outside of the computer lab. Unfortunately, this is not yet possible at our school.
In conclusion, I find the system of teaching organisation set up at our school more effective. Students have the opportunity to recharge their batteries during the ten-minute breaks, and to stretch a bit when moving to another class. Likewise, for teachers, the break is a valuable opportunity to prepare for the next lesson. Having their own classroom also gives our teachers more quiet time to work and a chance to get away from the noisy classroom environment for a while.
Due to the admission procedure that our students have to pass, we have a much higher level of students and their knowledge (language and general) at our school.
Shadowing tips & tricks
For colleagues who are going to go on a shadowing trip, I definitely recommend at least a minimum knowledge of the language of the country, it will make everyday activities like shopping in a shop or eating in a restaurant much easier, but also communication with students. I went to Spain with a very limited knowledge of Spanish, so I was worried about communication problems, however all the teachers at the school were proficient in English, so we mostly communicated in that language. However, some students were not able to communicate in English. So I would definitely recommend knowing at least a few Spanish phrases which are very useful in everyday life, service workers often don't want to or can't communicate in English.
It is ideal to choose a colleague to shadow who teaches the same subject in order to gain as much methodological and professional inspiration as possible. However, it is definitely worth going to see other subjects being taught to get an idea of how they are taught. I would also recommend choosing a similar type of school, because, after all, the experience of teaching at different school levels is very different.
It is also very useful to agree with the teacher what is appropriate and what is not appropriate in the context of movement in the classroom (to what extent the shadow teacher should interfere in the teaching, participate in activities, help students who need it, ask questions, take photos, etc.). It is also certainly advisable to take breaks during the sharing and not to try to complete as many lessons as possible in a row, but also to take time to share impressions of the lessons and to observe the life and culture of the country outside the classroom. I definitely recommend renting a car or other means of transportation, planning interesting tourist destinations to visit, and traveling around a part of the country.
